NEW YORK 

BOY N TON 



[i..^,V/ff, ■.JH.-Jf'-A.H. ■# ' . 




Class I \\ 3A£l 

Book i °> ■ 'I _ 

CopyrightW._J3d 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



ACTUAL GOVERNMENT 



OF NEW YORI 



v 



A MANUAL OF THE LOCAL, MUNICIPAL, STATE 

AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR USE IN 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS 

OF NEW YORK STATE 



BY 

FRANK DAVID BOYNTON 
l( 

RINTENDEN1 Ol 51 HOOLS, ITHACA, NEW YORK, Al'THOR OF 
M S H : -. "MANUAL OF CIVICS," '-SYLLABUS 

I ; -." ' PLANE GEOMETRY/' ETC. 



"What we seek is the reign of law, based 
upon the consent of the governed and sus- 
tained by the organized opinion of mankind" 
Woodrow Wilson, July 4, 1918 



REVISED EDITIO V 



GINN AND COMPANY 

• CHICAGO • LONDON 
ATLANTA • DALLA SAN 1 



x~/n 



^7 



COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1911, 1916. L918, BY 
FRANK DAVID BOYNTON 



ALL KK.II is RBSBRVBD 
5l8, 10 



NOV 19 laid 

TEfte j3tftengum 3&rt&* 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 

©CIA506644 



PREFACE 

In the preparation of this edition of "Actual Government 

of New York" the author has associated with him three 
teachers of civics in as many cities of the state, and has 
made use of the suggestions received from teachers who 
used the first edition. In this way the present book has 
been worked out. Both subject matter and arrangement have 
been subjected to the study and criticism of classroom teach- 
ers. Teachers who used the first edition have helped in no 
:1 degree to produce the present book. Many of them 
will find that their suggestions have been incorporated as 
made, while others will find theirs somewhat modified. Ex- 
tremes, or "fads," in government have been ignored, but the 
substantial and healthy development of democratic repre- 
sentative government has been definitely pointed out in both 
the text and the illustrations. 

A textbook in civics treats of a large body of facts which 
change or which may change with every session of the legis- 
lature and of Congress. This edition brings the statement of 
fact up to date and adds valuable new material and illustra- 
tions. Some of the more important new topics discussed may 
be mentioned: the amendments to the state and United States 

.stitutions; city manager; compulsory physical and military 
training; the initiative, referendum, and recall; commission 
government; the primary-rejection law; the importance of the 
county as a unit of local government; mothers' pensions; 
- compensation ; new methods of choosing candi- 
dates; the state pay roll; popular election of United States 



vi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

senators ; federal reserve banks ; reorganization of the de- 
partments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor ; presiden- 
tial primaries ; federal trade commission ; the Judiciary Act 
of 191 1 and the federal courts; the federal income tax; 
reorganization of the army ; etc. 

The book begins with the school district — the child's first 
contact with organized government as he leaves the home. 
The development follows that of the child, in his experi- 
ence and through his reading, from school district to town, 
village, city, county, state, nation, and to international rela- 
tions, showing at each step the necessity for government for 
the highest good of the individual in society, and how each 
successive form has the individual as the center and bears 
directly upon him. 

The text is a complete book in itself, and the same is 
true of the library references which follow each chapter, and 
again of the questions on the text. By a careful study of 
any one of these three divisions a pupil may be prepared 
for any examination which he is likely to meet. The full 
text of the state and United States constitutions is given, 
and a bibliography of library books is suggested. This edition 
will be found to serve as a complete text, a reference book, 
and a source book. 

THE AUTHOR 



CONTENTS 

PART I. GOVERNMENT OF THE LOCAL UNITS 

PAGE 

Bibliography xix 

CHAPTER 

I. Introduction i 

Lest wo Forget. Government and Business. Federal 
Government and the Individual. Preliminary Steps. 
Preliminary Steps Classified. Why we have Government. 

II. The School District 7 

General Statement. Officers of the District. Duties of 
Trustees. Duties of Other Officers. Annual School 
Meeting. Business of School Meeting. Who may vote 
at a School Meeting. Political Independence of a School 
District. Union Free School District. School Neighbor- 
hood. Removals and Filling of Vacancies. 

III. The Town 14 

The Town: its History. Town Government. The Town 
Meeting. Time of holding Town Meetings. Powers of 
the Town Meeting. The Supervisor. The Town Clerk. 
Assessors. The Collector. Constables. Town Su- 
perintendent of Roads and Bridges. Overseers of the 
Poor. Justices of the Peace. The Town Board. Town 
Auditor-. Fence Viewers. School Directors. Inspec- 
tor.- of Election. Vacant i 

IV. The Village 27 

Why we have Villages. Relation of Village to Town. 
Why a Separate Village Government is Needed. Forma- 
tion of Villages. Villages Classified. Village Officers and 



viii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

CHAPTER PAGE 

their Election. The Legislative Branch. The Village 
Meeting. The Board of Trustees. The Executive 
Branch. The Village President. Other Executive Offi- 
cers. The Judicial Branch. Board of Education. Pub- 
lic Utilities. Fire Protection. The Board of Health. 

V. The City 41 

General Statement. The Street. How Streets are laid 
out : New Problems. Use of the Streets. How Per- 
mission to use the Streets is Gained. A City's Business. 
The City Charter. Cities Classified. Choosing of City 
Officials. Legislative Department. Executive Depart- 
ment. Other Executive Officers. Judicial Department. 
Term of City Officers. Board of Education. Public 
Utilities. Street-Cleaning. Building Laws i:iv\ Permits: 
New Problems. Police and Fire Protection. City In- 
stitutions. City Finances. Commission Government. 

VI. Greater New York 62 

General Statement. New York Legislative Depart- 
ment: its Board of Aldermen. New York's Executive. 
Executive Departments. County Government within 
the City. New York's Judicial System. 

VII. The County 75 

General Statement. City Counties. County Govern- 
ment. County Legislature. Board of Supervisors : 
its Duties. County Executive: Removals. SherilT. 
County Clerk. County Treasurer. District Attorney. 
Superintendent of the Poor. Superintendent of High- 
ways. District Superintendent of Schools. Judicial 
Branch. Coroners. County Government in Action. 
The County : its Importance. 

PART II. GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 
VIII. The Constitution in Development . . 86 

Our Birthright. Before the White Man Came. New 
York a Dutch Colony. Dutch West India Company. 



CONTENTS ix 

CHAPTER PAGE 

New York an English Colony. The Charter of Liber- 
ties. Our Four Constitutions. Fundamental Law. 
Amendment and Revision. 

IX. Powers and Limitations of the State . . 95 

te Activities. Federal and State Bills of Rights 
Compared. Personal Liberty. Personal Security. 
Private Property. State Debts. State Credit. Forests 
and Canals. State Protection. Corporations, Banks, etc. 

X. Legislative Department 104 

-anization. The Assembly. The Speaker: his Elec- 
tion. The Speaker: his Powers. Majority and Mi- 
nority Leaders. Assembly Officers. The Senate. 
of the Senate. Members : Qualifications, 
Term, etc. Sessions. Procedure. How a Bill be- 
comes a Law. Public-Welfare Laws. Powers of the 
Legislature. 

XL The Governor and Other Executives . .114 

General Provisions. The Governor. Powers of the 
Governor. The Lieutenant Governor. Other Admin- 
istrative Officers. Secretary of State. Comptroller. 
Treasurer. Attorney-General. State Engineer and 
Surveyor. Other Elective Officers. Appointed by the 
Governor. Summary. 

XII. Judicial Department 128 

Courts and Judges. Justice Courts. County Courts. 
The Supreme Court. Appellate Division of the Su- 
preme Court. Court of Appeals. Special Courts. 
The Duty of the Courts. Civil Procedure. Criminal 
edure : the Arrest Criminal Procedure: the 
Indictment. Criminal Procedure : the Trial. United 
( 'ourts : Perjury. 

XIII. State Education Department . . .141 

Historical Sketch. Hoard of Regents. State Com- 
missioner of Education. Supervisory District. I 

trict Superintendent. Compulsory Attendance. 



ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Compulsory Physical Training. Compulsory Military 
Training. Qualification and Training of Teachers. 
State Aid to Schools. State Scholarships. Distribu- 
tion of State Aid. School Trust Funds. The School 
District. 

XIV. State Institutions 151 

State Agricultural Schools. State College of Agricul- 
ture. State Veterinary College. Normal Schools. 
Schools for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb. Hospitals 
for the Insane. State Charities. State Reforma- 
tories. State Prisons. Other State Activities. 

XV. Suffrage: How and When Exercised . -159 
Citizenship. Suffrage a Privilege. Who may Vote. 
Party Government Recognised. Elective Offio 
and Election Districts. Time of Elections. Election 

Expenses. The Convention Plan of Choosing Candi- 
dates. The Primary Plan of Choosing Candidates. 

Importance of the Primary. Supervision of Elections. 
How to Register. Voting by Ballot. Voting by the 
Machine. The Counting. 

XVI. State Finances 171 

State Budget. Sources of Revenue. Apportionment 
of Taxes. Tax Districts. Tax Denned. 

PART III. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

XVII. The Constitution: its Formation and 

Adoption 176 

Condition of Affairs under the Articles of Confederation. 
Attitude of the States. The Feeling between the 
States. The General Government Helpless. Sugges- 
tions for Amendment. Origin of the Constitutional 
Convention. The Annapolis Convention. The Con- 
stitutional Convention. Influence of Washington. 
Hamilton and Madison. Franklin. Other Promi- 
nent Delegates. Work of the Convention. Diffi- 
culty of the Task. Plans Submitted. The First 



CONTEXTS xi 

CHAPTER PACE 

Great Compromise. The Second Great Compro- 
mise. The Third Great Compromise. Ratification, 
Struggle over Ratification. Establishment of the 
New Government. 

XVIII. The Constitution: its Origin and Nature 193 

Its Origin. Origin of Special Provisions. Sugges- 
tions from the States. Its Nature Different from the 
British Constitution. Different from the Confedera- 
tion. Growth of Nationality. Relation between the 
States and the Union. Departments of Government. 
Stability of the Constitution. 

XIX. Legislative Department: its Organization 203 

The Two Houses. N umber of Members. The Suf- 
frage. Qualifications of Representatives. Exclusion 
of Members-Elect. Length of Term. Elections. 
Gerrymandering. Representatives at Large. Va- 
cancies. Election Expenses. The House : Officers. 
Method of Choice. The Senate : its Origin and 
Character. The Senate : Constitutional Provisions. 
The Senate : Objects Aimed At. Election of Senators. 
Movement toward Direct Election by the People. 
The Seventeenth Amendment and Direct Election. 
The Senate : its Officers. Privileges of Members of 
Congress. Disabilities. Sessions of Congress. Quo- 
rum. Procedure. Adjournment. Comparison with 
Congress of the Confederation. 

XX. Legislative Department : its Powers and 

. Limitations 226 

The Taxing Power. Taxes: Classification. Indirect 
The Tariff. Excises. Collection of 
The Power to Borrow. Money: its History. 
Power of Coinage. United States Money. Counter- 
feiting. Power to Regulate Commerce. Foreign 
Commerce. Interstate Commerce. Antitrust Law. 
Bankruptcy Laws. Piracy. Weights and Measures. 
War Powers. Declaration of War. Armies. The 
Regular Army. The Militia. The \avy. Military 



xii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Law and Courts. Letters of Marque and Reprisal; 
Captures. Military Property. Miscellaneous Powers : 
Naturalization. Naturalization Laws. Postal Serv- 
ice. Copyrights and Patents. The National Capital. 
The Government of the District. The Government oi 
Territories. Organized and Unorganized Territories. 
Territories : a New Classification. Power to Establish 
Courts. The Elastic Clause. Special Powers of Each 
House. The House : Revenue Bills. The House : 
Impeachment. The House: Presidential Election. 
The Senate : Executive Powers. The Senate: Work- 
ing of these Powers. The Senate : Judicial Function. 
Limitations upon Congress: Taxation. Commit 
Appropriations. Other Restrictions : Habeas Corpus. 
Bills of Attainder: Ex Post Facto Laws. Titles of 
Nobility. 

XXL Legislative Department: its Working . 266 

The Senate Chamber. Chamber of the House. 
Character of Members. Methods of Legislation. 
Stages of a House Bill. The Committee System. The 
Committees. Power of the Committee. Reporting 
Bills. Logrolling. Filibustering. Methods of Vot- 
ing. Restraint of Filibustering. Closure of Debate. 
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Committee 
System. The Speaker. The Speaker : Sources of his 
Power. Recognition. Committee on Rules. The 
Party Caucus. The Necessity for Expediting 
Business. Contrast between the Houses. Desir- 
ability of a Career in Congress. 

XXII. Executive Department : President and Vice 

President 286 

Executive Department. The Convention and the 
Presidency. A Difficult Question. Plan Adopted. 
Qualifications for the Presidency. Term and 
Reeligibility. Salary. Election : Methods Proposed 
in the Convention. Method Chosen. A Defect 
Discovered. The Twelfth Amendment. Another 



CONTENTS 



xin 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Defect. Time and Method of Choosing Electors. 
Failure of the Electoral College. A More Se- 
rious Defect. Presidential Primaries. Presidential 
Succession. The President's Powers. Classification 
not Absolute. His Legislative Powers. The Veto. 
Restrictions on the Veto. Working of the Veto. 
Calling Extra Sessions. Treaty-Making Power. The 
Appointing Power. The Life of the President. 
Great Statesmen and the Presidency. Executive 
Power not Perfect. The Vice President. 

XXIII. Executive Department: President's As- 
sistants 311 

The Cabinet. Relations of Cabinet Officers to 
President. Executive Departments : Organization. 
Executive Departments: History. State Depart- 
ment. Treasury Department. War Department. 
Department of Justice. Post-Office Department. 
Navy Department. Department of the Interior. 
Department of Agriculture. Department of Com- 
merce. Department of Labor. Federal Trade Com- 
mission. Independent Boards and Commissions. 

XXIV. Judicial Department: Federal Courts . 328 

Necessity of Federal Judiciary. The Federal Courts. 
The Judges. Jurisdiction : One Class of Cases. 
Another Class of Cases. Eleventh Amendment. 
Transfer of Cases. Treason. The Supreme Court. 
The Supreme Court : its Jurisdiction. The Supreme 
Court: its Sessions. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dis- 
trict Courts. The Court of Claims. Customs Appeals. 
Marshals and District Attorneys. The Procedure of 
the Federal Courts. Defects of the Judicial System. 
ellences. 

XXV. The Siati s in Their Relations to the CON- 
STITUTION 341 

Admission of New State-. Methods of Admission. 

(iuaranties to the State- : Republican Government. 



xiv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



XXVI. 



Protection against Invasion. Against Domestic 
Violence. Obligations upon the States : Public 
Records. Privileges of Citizens. Fugitive Crim- 
inals. Limitations of State Power. Absolute 
Limitations: Foreign Affairs. In the Matter of 
Money. Personal Liberty. Provisional Limita- 
tions. Doctrine of National Sovereignty. Division 
of Powers : Reserved Powers. Concurrent Powers. 
Classes of Powers. Conflicts of Authority. 

The Bill of Rights : the Individual en 
his Relation to the Constitution 

The Bill of Rights. Restriction only upon the 
Federal Government. Classes of Guaranties. 

The Right of Personal Liberty. The Right of Per- 
sonal Security. The Right of Private Property. 
General Guaranties. 



354 



XXVII. Miscellaneous Provisions .... 

The Public Debt. Ratification. Amendment. 
Possible Methods. Method Used. Existing 
Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment. The 

Fourteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amend- 
ment. 



3 61 



XXVIII. The Unwritten Constitution 

Development of the Unwritten Constitution. 
Original and Inherent Powers. Presidential Elec- 
tors only Party Agents. Ineligibility of the Presi- 
dent. Custom and the President's Power of Re- 
moval. The Senate and the President's Nomi- 
nations. The Cabinet and the Unwritten Consti- 
tution. The Committee System. Our Whole 
System of Party Government. 



3^7 



XXIX. State Governments 

National Expansion since 1789. Diversities and 
Uniformities among the States. Origin of State 



37 6 



CONTENTS xv 

PAGE 

Constitutions. Methods of Constitution-Making. 
The Present Process. Constitutional Amendment-. 
Contents oi State Constitutions : Historical Changes. 
Existing State Constitutions. The State Govern- 
ments. Suffrage and Elections. Method of Choosing 
Candidates. Voting. Election. The Legislature: 
Organization. The Lower Houses. Sessions. Pro- 
cedure. Restrictions on Powers of Legislatures. 
ial Powers of the Houses. The Executive: 
its Character. The Governor. The Governor's 
Colleagues. Election, Terms, and Qualifications of 
Executive Officers. The Judiciary. The System 
- i ial Courts. Judges. The Term 
of I State Finances. Taxes. Exemptions. 

Assessment. Apportionment and Collection. Re- 
strictions upon Taxing Power. Education. The 
School System. Various Grades of Schools. State 
Administration of Schools. Local Administration of 
Schools. Compulsory Education. Importance of 
State Government. Initiative and Referendum. 



XXX. Comparison of National Governments . 402 

Other Governments : their Relation. England's Con- 
ition. England's Legislature. England's Execu- 
tive. English Cabinet. England's Judicial Sys- 
tem. Germany. German}'- Executive. Germany's 
Judicial System. French Government. Tin- French 
gislature. The French Executive. The 
nch Judicial System. Canada's Constitution. 

Canada- Ex© llth e. Can- 
ada's Judicial System. Switzerland: its Legislature, 
itzerland : serland : it- Judi- 

artment. The Unitary State. TheConfeder- 
. Further Classifications. 
Absolute Monarchy. Eimitcd Monarchy. Pure 
I N • I tenia ra< y. What i^ 

the ! a of Government? 



xvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

APPENDIX 



PAGE 



The Constitution of the State of New York 

Constitution of the United States .... lii | 

INDEX . . . 



lxxv 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 







PAGE 


Front 


spiece 






9 






9 


Charity 




'5 

CS 

29 

• 43 

■ 63 

■ 63 



The Capitol at Washington 

The City Hall. Pes Moines 

The New York City Public Library 

The "Bread Line" at Midnight receiving 

A Policeman making the Streets Safe 

The Work oi the Fire Department . 

ning the Stn ... 

Medical Inspection 
A Pure-Milk Depot 
Maps oi New York State, showing the Fifty-one State Senatorial 

Districts and the Number of Assemblymen to which Each 

County is entitled 

Maps of Xew York State, showing the Forty-three Congressional 

I districts and the Nine Judicial Districts 

The S Chamber and the Assembly Chamber in the State 

.pitol at Albany ........ 

"k State Education Building, Albany . 
A Public & hool 
Sam: lian Ballot used in Xew York Slate, November 

*4 



Independence Hall. Philadelphia 

Tin- Panama Canal 

rnment Meat Inspection .... 
< lhamber .... 

The Chamber of the House of Representatives 
The Arrowrock Dam. Boise, Idaho ..... 
1 the Great Government Irrigating Canals 



$7 



129 
i43 
143 

169 

■77 

i<>5 
[95 

^05 
20S 
227 

227 



xviii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



PAGE 

President Wilson reading his Message to Congress assembled in 

the Hall of Representatives 287 

Territorial Growth of the United States (colored map) . .310 

The Supreme Court Chamber 329 

The White House . . . . . . . 329 

The State Capitol at Albany, N.Y. 343 

The State Capitol at Frankfort, Ky. 343 

"The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble" -355 
Soldiers in Camp, receiving Instruction in the Use of the Rifle 403 
The Battleship Pennsylvania 403 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



MS, II. C. The Science of Finance. 
\. EDMUND. Among the Law-Makers. 

I. X. Municipal Engineering and Sanitation. 
BALDWIN, S. E. Modern Political Institutions. The American 
Judiciary. 

Charles A. American Government and Politics. New and 

edition. 
. T. I >. School Civics. 

5. American Commonwealth. 2 v. 
\. HAMPTON L. History of Supreme Court. 
KJ iv-. A. R. City Government in the United States. 
LEY, T. M. Constitutional Limitations. 
DALLINGER, F. W. Nomination for Elective Office. 
\. I). B. Government of Municipalities. 
ition Department. Consolidated School Law. 
FAIRLIE, J. A. Municipal Administration. 

FlSKE, JOHN. American Political Ideas viewed from the Standpoint of 
Universal History: also Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America. 
. M. P. The Speaker. 
v. I\*i. Municipal Problems, 

. I w John), Madison (J ym s), and oth< 
stitutional papers. Edited by E. II. Scott. 
. Ai tual I Government 
A. k. I - 

K. The I 
'. \V. The Trust Problem. 
Johi History of American P I edition 

• Villiam M. Sl< 
chie, L. G. ( '« >ngressi< >naJ ( ' >mmi 

xi\ 



xx ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Madison, James. Journal of the Federal Convention. Edited bv 
E. H. Scott. 

Merriam, C. E. Primary Elections. 

Oberholtzer, E. P. The Referendum in America: also Official Con- 
gressional Directory for the Use of the United Status Cong] 

Remsen, Daniel S. Primary Elections. 

Roberts, E. H. The Planting and Growth of the Empire State; also 
New York in the Revolution. 

Robinson, W. C. Elementary Law. 

Roosevelt, Theodore. American Ideals and Other I xnal 

and Political. 

Secretary of State. Legislative Manual. Tin- New Y<>rk Red 
Book. Election Laws i : \ a York. Revised Statutes of New- 
York. 

Stanwood, Edward. History of tin- Presidency. 

State Librarian. New York at Gettysburg. 

Stimson, F. J. Labor in its Relation to Law. 

Taussig, F. AY. Tariff History in the United States. 

White, H. Money and Banking. 

Wilcox, Delos F. The Study of the City Government 

WlLLOUCiiir.v. W. W. Ameriean Constitutional System. 

Wilson, Woodrow. Congressional Government; also The State. 

Wright, Carroll D. Industrial Evolution of the United Stat 

Zueblin, Charles. Ameriean Municipal Progress; also various 
national, state, county, and municipal reports. 

Government of the State of New York — Organization and Function. 
Prepared for the Constitutional Convention, \i)\;. 

Government of the City of New York — Organization and Function. 
Prepared for the Constitutional Convention, 191 5. 



TO MY STUDENT FRIENDS 

Human need is the origin of all just government among 
men. Whether we are considering the home (our first con- 
I with organized government) or the school (our second 
perience with formal control), or whether we are thinking 
in terms of the larger units of government, — the village, the 
city, the t<nvn, the county, the state, the nation, or the rela- 
tions existing between nations, — the fact remains that all 
just laws, ordinances, regulations, or treaties are but the 
ul expression of some human need. 
Human need led the first settler, around the site of whose 
cabin has grown your beautiful city, to strew with boughs 
the pathway from his to his neighbor's hut, so that the in- 
mates of the one might pass dry-shod to the home of the 
i . Thus it was human need which led to the construc- 
1 of this primitive sidewalk in the M forest primeval," and 
it is human need which causes us to make sidewalks, lay 
out in 1 highways, build bridges, establish health, fire, 

and police departments, and to maintain schools, churches, 
playgrounds, parks, banks, stores, factories, railroads, tele- 
. postal systems, an army and navy, legis- 
late js, mayors, governors, and presidents; and 
id many more we voluntarily tax ourselves in 
Mother, since all are maintained out of the 
inal income of the home for your need and mine. 
I this field of the Study of human need as dealt with 
in • eminent of your village, city, town, county, state, 
and nation, and in our relations with other nations, you are 



xxii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

invited. The conditions which are rapidly developing in 
these various units of government call for grave consider- 
ation on the part of those who think straight on these 
questions. I can only wish you the joy that has been mine 
as I have written these lines to my young fellow country- 
men. Upon your shoulders rests the future of American 
institutions. He who uses public office for private advan- 
tage is an undesirable citizen, and he who plots against the 
industries or government of his country is a traitor. The 
issues are great and demand clear thinking and far seeing, 
but there need be no fear as to how these issues are to be 
met and solved for mankind by the boys and girls of the 
American public school, the nation's bulwark and strong 
tower of defense, so splendidly garrisoned. 

THE AUTHOR 



ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF 

NEW YORK 

PART I. GOVERNMENT OF THE LOCAL 

UNITS 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

Lest we Forget. The constitution of the United States, 
11 and the laws of the United States which shall be made in 
pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall 
be made, under the authority of the United State-, shall 
be the supreme law of the laud; and the judges in every 
state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution 
or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 
The senators and representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several state legislatures, and all 
md judicial officers, both of the United States 
and of the several - shall be bound by oath or affirma- 

tion to support " the constitution of the United States 
(see Appendix, p. liii). Thus the framers of the federal 
eminent made it clear that the government which they 
wen- organizing first in point of authority. New 

States are admitted to the Union by act of Congress upon 



2 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

specific terms detailed in the enabling act, which terms, in 
case of violation by state authorities, would be enforced by 
the federal courts (see Chapter XXV, p. 341). 

Government and Business. In order that sewers, streets, 
public buildings, fire and police departments, etc. may be 
had and maintained, large sums of money are needed. 
Municipal government, that is, the government of a village 
or city, is, in many particulars, much like a department 
store, with its several departments of health, public safety, 
education, justice, etc., in which we are all stockholders 
and partners. It is to our interest to see to it that the 
fire department is well equipped, that its administration 
is efficient, that the water pressure LS adequate, in order 
that our property may be protected from destruction by 
fire. This interest is on the same level as our interest 
in seeing that the grocer uses a pair of scales which will give 
us what we pay for. In no sense, however, can this bush; 
instinct be construed into meaning allegiance or Love of 
country. We move from one village or city to another or 
from one locality to another in the same or different states 
with great frequency. Our relatives live in Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, and in other states under substantially the same 
conditions as we live. Leaving one's locality or state is 
entirely different from leaving one's country. However 
great our love for our state or locality, it is not so great as 
that for our country. It is this love of country which makes 
all state and local government secure and worth wdiile, which 
leads men to forsake home, business, all personal interests, 
and offer themselves for their country's good. It was this 
love of country which defended the pass at Thermopylae, 
which led to " the charge of the light brigade," and which 
left five thousand sons of New York dead on the field at 
Gettysburg. No true American will slander the memory 



INTRODUCTION 3 

of those whose unselfish acts and deaths have made govern- 
ment in the smallest unit possible by intimating that it is 
ssentially a business proposition." In the truest sense 
there is nothing yellow or jingoish in the sentiment which 
we sum up in the word " patriotism," the true foundation 
and motive power of all popular government. 

Federal Government and the Individual. It is some- 
time- stated that the federal government is so removed 
m the individual in his daily round of duties that it 
is less important than the smaller units of state, count}', 
and local government Such statements are misleading. 
Through tariff laws the federal government may and has 
phi upon practically every article of food and 

clothing and -belter, thus daily reaching the most obscure 
individual in the remotest cottage; it may and has placed 
a tax upon bank checks, express receipts, telegrams, and 
the like; it may and has entered any home in any state 
rcefully taken the father, son, brother, or husband 
and put him up as a target to stop the bullets of the coun- 
try'- enemies; it may and has sent troops into a state 
to ei ral laws ; it may and has passed laws which 

haw opened or closed down industries. It controls the 
postal system, the foundation of all business; it may de- 
clare any street, road, railroad, trolley, or steamship line 
power over interstate commerce gives it 
practical control over our great railways and water routes, 
some of which it own-. 1 and the present tendency is to 
< r. It coin- our money and estab- 
lishes our weights and measures, thus entering into the 
most minute detail- of our daily business transaction-. 

N ' ; the above power- may be exercised by state, 

•»im;i rail: mship line from \Y\v York to this railroad 



4 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

county, or local government. While writing this para- 
graph, a uniformed officer of the federal government visited 
my home ; he comes daily. There are over thirty of these 
officials permanently located upon federal property in my 
city. My state never sends an officer to my home and 
owns no property in my city. In the study of these lesser 
" business units " we should not forget the far-reaching and 
fundamental powers of the federal government, lest we lend 
our study to a further development of a kind of bucket-shop 
statesmanship which looks after the district or the ward 
before it does after the country or the state. 

Preliminary Steps. If we were to make a list of the 
services performed for us by government, we should natu- 
rally select those nearest to us, forgetting, perhaps, that the 
successful performance of these services depends upon the 
strong central authority represented by federal and state 
governments. Such a list would probably include our 
schools and teachers, libraries, roads, bridges, water supply, 
sewers, firemen, public parks, hospitals, records of our 
houses and lands, courts for the punishment of law break- 
ers and for the settlement of disputes, insurance compani 
banks, post office, money, weights and measures, servi 
of the army, navy, regulation of railroads and steamship 
companies doing business between the states, and many of 
the larger matters which, because of their size, do not come 
directly into our immediate experience, especially when 
all goes well. 

Preliminary Steps Classified. If we arrange these serv- 
ices according to the government which immediately 
performs them, we shall find that the first three are per- 
formed by the officers of the school district, who are respon- 
sible directly to state officials for the faithful performance 
of their duties ; the next seven, by town, village, or city 



INTRODUCTION 5 

governments, whose officers are in many instances respon- 
sible to state officials; the next two would be performed 
by the county, although the town, village, and city have 
courts oi their own ; the next two would be under state 
control, except in the case of national banks; the last 
seven, including the management of national banks, by the 
federal government alone. Thus it will be seen that gov- 
ernment i> a series of circles ever widening as we go to 
the next form, with the individual standing at the center; 
yet all laws are made by the people directly or by their 
chosen representatives and for their (our) benefit. 

Why we have Government. One reason why we have 

eminent is that it is to our advantage; probably this 

he chief reason. For example, we wish to send a letter 
to a friend in another state. We write our letter in the 
quiet of our home, protected by the local government 

wn, village, or city. When our letter is completed 
we seal it in a paper envelope, put a stamp upon it, and 
place it on our front porch. Government, the mailman, 
comes along, understands what is wanted, takes the mes- 
uards it in passage, and delivers it to the friend in 
another state all for two cents. We could not have 
done it so cheaply or so well; hence government. But 
What would have been the result if we had for- 
gottrn to perform our part toward the government and 

; not placed a -tamp on the letter ? Thus we see that 
duty toward government in return for the help 

whi i Eiders. Or supposing our home were in flames; 

might and probably would try to put them out ourselves, 

but the firemen would come, attach the tire hose to the 

hydrant, and quickly extinguish the blaze, saving our home 

and the home- that SO thickly >urround ours; so we find it 

Eld better to have firemen trained to do our work. 



6 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

while we are attending to other duties. Thus we might 
figure out that many of the things which all people have 
done and want done can be done better and cheaper by 
those hired and trained to do them. Then, too, there 
are some things which it would be very hard for the 
individual to do alone and some which he could not do. 
Therefore we have courts and policemen to further pro- 
tect our property and our lives. For all of this protection 
it is the duty of the good citizen to pay and to pay 
liberally, since many of the services required of firemen 
and policemen are dangerous, frequently resulting in the 
death of the officer while guarding our lives or property. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. State how the federal government reaches the individual in 
his daily life. 

2. What is the " fundamental law" of the land ? 

3. Are state and local officials limited in the exercise of their 
power by federal law ? Explain how. 

4. Are there government officials located in your town? If 
so, explain their duties. 

5. In what ways are our transactions, whether it be the pur- 
chase of articles of food or clothing or a transfer of property, a 
recognition of the laws set up by the federal government ? 

6. By what authority is our money made and its value deter- 
mined ? 



CHAPTER II 

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 

General Statement. For the convenience of adminis- 
tration, the state has been divided into various districts. 
deeming each of these we are to learn in turn, as we 
study the work o\ each. The first form of organized gov- 
ernment with which we have to do as soon as we are old 
ugh to leave the home is that represented by the 
school. The school district is a certain territory set apart 
by law enacted by the state legislature. The number 
se districts in the towns of the state in 1915 was 
10,498. This, however, is not a fixed number, since the 
law permits two or more of these country districts to 
unite, and a united district to break up into its original 
parts. The law establishing these districts charges those 
who live within each with the duty of maintaining a school 
at least thirty-six weeks during the year and of authorizing 
a property tax for their support. 

Officers of the District. The law provides that there 
! be one <>r three trustees, a- the voters of the district 
may determine, a clerk, a collector, and a treasurer. If 
the district i- known as a ki union free school district," the 
number of trustees may not be less than three nor more 
than nine. Every school district officer must be able to 
1 and write and must be a voter of the district. The 

m of office, where then- an- several trustees, Is for three 

If there IS a Single trustee, the term i> one year. 
7 



8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

All other officers are elected for a term of one year. Any 
officer of the school district who refuses to serve shall 
forfeit the sum of five dollars, to be used for the benefit of 
the district. 

Duties of Trustees. The trustee (or trustees) of the 
school district has charge of all property belonging to the 
district ; calls special meetings of the voters of the district ; 
gives notices of the annual or of adjourned meetin 
makes out the tax list, apportioning to each taxable in- 
habitant his share of the school tax voted by the district ; 
purchases or leases property as the district directs ; insures 
the school building, library, furniture, and apparatus; 
employs a teacher and determines the salary of such and 
the length of term to be taught ; prescribes the course 
of study, the rules for governing the school ; eng 
janitor; attends to the minor repairs; and may expend 
twenty-five dollars for necessary dictionary, maps, or other 
apparatus. 

Duties of the Other Officers. The duties of the district 
clerk, collector, and treasurer are indicated by their titles. 
The records are kept and preserved by the clerk in a book 
provided for the purpose. He gives the required notices 
for all special and annual meetings, notifies persons of 
their election to office, etc. The treasurer has charge of 
all moneys belonging to the district, and pays out the 
same upon a written order from the trustee or trustees. 
He must make a detailed report of receipts and expenses 
at the annual meeting and to the trustees whenever directed. 
The collector collects the school tax as per list made out by 
the trustee. He is required to give a bond for the faithful 
performance of his duties. He turns over to the treasurer 
all moneys collected. In case the district has no treasurer, 
the collector performs the duty of the treasurer. Where 




Hall, D Moine^ (above), and ihe New York 
City Public Library (below) 

The city hall in many cities is where the common council, or board of alder- 
men, meet The i ity departments usually i enter here. Either by public tax- 

r private philanthropy most < ities have a free public library 

9 



io ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

there is a separate treasurer, he is also required to furnish 
a bond for the faithful performance of his duties. In union 
free school districts, boards of education may appoint 
one of their own number as clerk, and must also appoint 
a treasurer and a collector. These officers are paid for their 
services either by vote of the district or by vote of the 
board of education. 

Annual School Meeting. The annual school meeting 
of each school district shall be held in the schoolhouse 
the first Tuesday of May of each year, at 7.30 P.M., unless 
the hour is otherwise changed by vote of the previous meet- 
ing. Special meetings may be held as called by the trus- 
tee. Due notice of all annual and special meetings must 
be posted in at least five different places in the district, 
one of which must be upon the door of the schoolhouse. 

Business of the School Meeting. The business of the 
school meeting is to elect officers; to vote a tax to pay 
the salary of the teacher, for the care and heating of the 
school building, and for the salaries of district officers in 
case such officers are paid; to take under consideration 
needed repairs or changes in the school building, or the 
need for a new building or a new or enlarged site, and 
such other matters as pertain to the general educational 
welfare of the school district. 

Who may vote at a School Meeting. Any person shall 
be entitled to vote at any school meeting for the election 
of officers, and upon any and all questions which may 
be brought before the meeting, who possesses the fol- 
lowing qualifications : (1) is a citizen of the United States ; l 

1 One must first be a citizen of the United States before he can be a 
citizen of the smallest unit of state government; thus it is seen that the 
foundation of all our government is citizenship according to federal law. 
It is not necessary to be a citizen of the state to vote at school meeting. 



THE SCHOOL DISTRICT n 

(2) is at least twenty-one years of age; (3) has been a 
resident of the school district for a period of at least 
thirty days immediately preceding the day of the meeting; 
and who in addition to the above qualifications is described 
in one of the following : (a) owms or hires or is under 
contract to own or hire real estate subject to taxation for 
school purposes ; (b) is a parent of a child of school age 
who attended school at least eight weeks the preceding 
year; (c lias permanently residing with him (or her) 
any child of school age (five to eighteen years old) who 
attended school at least eight weeks the preceding year; 
i> the owner oi personal property exceeding fifty dollars 
in value and assessed upon the last assessment roll of the 
i. Both men and women who meet the above qualifi- 
cations are eligible to vote. 

Political Independence of a School District. The state 
through its legislature has created a school district a 
corporation for the purpose of looking after the affairs 
of education within the district, and has given it full power 
in all matters pertaining to education. While it may be 
a part of a town or village, it is quite independent of 
these larger units of government in matters pertaining 
to education within its limits. The idea has been to 
remove as far as possible all restrictions upon the will of 
the people in matters of education. The form of govern- 
ment represented by the school meeting is a pure democ- 
racy, that is. one in which all the voters meet to transact 
busic 

Union Free School District. Union free school districts 
organized under the provision of the education law ' 

and by special act of the state legislature. These districts 

have a board of education, clerk, treasurer, collector, 

• 11 law, 1914. 



12 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

whose duties include those of a common school district. 
As a rule, union free school districts are found only in 
villages and cities. The power of a board of education is 
greater than that of a trustee, and the course of study 
in a union free school is much more extensive than that 
in the common school. If the union free school district 
includes a village of five thousand inhabitants or more, 
the board of education may elect a special school officer, 
called a superintendent of schools, who has full charge of 
the schools of the district under rules adopted by the board 
of education. 

School Neighborhood. A school neighborhood is a 
small district so situated that the children of school age 
residing within such district may best be served by attend- 
ing school in another state. Such neighborhoods are 
established by law, and usually have a trustee and clerk. 
The voters of the neighborhood meet annually, as in a 
regular school district. Near state lines this arrangement 
is found to be advantageous. In some of our towns 
(Waverly, for example) the state line passes through the 
village or district, which is essentially one although situated 
in two states. 

Removals and Filling of Vacancies. Whenever it shall 
be proved to the satisfaction of the commissioner of educa- 
tion that any trustee, member of a board of education, 
clerk, collector, treasurer, school superintendent, dis- 
trict superintendent, or other school officer has been guilty 
of any willful violation or neglect of duty as set forth in 
the education law, or any other act pertaining to the com- 
mon schools or other educational institution participating 
in state funds, or of willfully disobeying any decision, order, 
or regulation of the board of regents or of the commissioner 
of education, the commissioner of education has full power 






THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 13 

to remove such school officer from his office. A vacancy 
in the office of trustee may be tilled by calling a special 
election of the voters of the district within thirty days 
after the office becomes vacant, or, if such meeting is not 
called, the district superintendent may appoint a qualified 
person to fill the office. The trustees may appoint a quali- 
fied person to fill the office of clerk, collector, or treasurer 
should a vacancy occur in any of these offices. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Outline the work oi the school meeting. 

2. Name the duties oi the school trustee. 

3. How is a school tax determined, the rate established, and 
the tax oi the individual worked out? 

4. What advantage is there in having the school district 
independent of the town in the management of school affairs? 

5. Who may vote at a school meeting? 

6. What is a school neighborhood ? 

7. In what particulars does a union free school district differ 
from the ordinary school district? 

8. Who has the power of removing school officials for neglect 
of duty? 

9. If the office of school trustee becomes vacant, how may it 
be filled? 

10. What are the powers and duties of the school trustee? 

11. Compare the school meeting with the village and town 
meetings. 



CHAPTER III 
THE TOWN 

The Town: its History. From the earliest settlements 
in America the town as a local unit of government has held 
a conspicuous place. It was established in this country by 
the first settlers and down to the present moment continues 
to perform important local duties in this state and in several 
states. As we have seen in Chapter II, the state is divided 
into small units called school districts (10,498 in 1915 . 
We are now to observe that it is also divided into small 
units considerably larger than the school district, and for 
quite a different purpose. These units are called towns and 
number 947. The territory embraced by the boundaries 
of a town constitutes a little republic by itself, with 
specific duties to perform with reference to town affairs. 
These duties are defined by laws passed by the state legisla- 
ture, which body also determines the number and size 
of towns. The reason for town government is that, as in 
the school district, there are many local matters, such as 
caring for the poor, prevention and punishment of crime, 
the building and care of roads and bridges, all of which 
pertain to the town, that can better be attended to by 
those immediately interested than by those larger divisions 
of the state to which the larger and more general affairs of 
government are delegated. 

Town Government. Like the government of the nation, 
state, and county, the government of the town is divided 

14 







d Line " at Midnight receiving Charity (above), 

A POLICEMAN MAKING THE STREETS SATE (below) 

I hese men in the " bread line n are idle because of vicious habits for 
which they alone are responsible and which make them undesirable as 
VPOrken in any business 



15 



16 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

into three departments : namely, legislative (the town meet- 
ing), executive (as represented by the supervisor, clerk, 
assessors, collector, overseers of the poor, superintendent 
of highways, constables, and school directors), and judicial 
(justices of the peace). 

The Town Meeting. The actual government of the town 
centers in one of our oldest institutions, the town meeting. 
This meeting is a gathering of voters of the town assembled 
according to state law for the sole purpose of considering 
the business of the town, and for the election of officers 
to carry out the expressed wishes of the voters assembled. 
Any qualified voter may propose to his assembled townsmen 
any question which the law permits towns to consider, and 
this will be discussed by the voters present and decided by 
a majority vote. The people themselves, as in the school 
meeting (see p. 10), are the government, dealing directly 
with local affairs pertaining to the immediate interests of 
the town. School and town meetings are types of the pure 
democracy. In these meetings the people manage their 
affairs directly rather than through representatives, although 
of course it is through such representatives as supervise 
assessors, etc., that the people's decisions are carried (nit. 
In the American system of government the town meeting 
represents the largest area directly controlled by the assem- 
bled voters. Because of its limited application as to area, 
this particular form of democratic government has become 
extinct outside of the town. The county, state, and national 
form of government is the representative democracy. We 
shall later learn how this republican form of government, as it 
is often called, differs from the simpler type described above. 

Time of holding Town Meetings. At the present 
time the town meeting is not held uniformly in all the 
counties of the state. In the counties of Chenango, 






THE TOWN 17 

Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins, 
town meetings are held on the second Tuesday in February ; 
in Cayuga, Cortland, and Schoharie counties, town meet- 
ings are held on the third Tuesday in February; in 
Wyoming and Yates counties, town meetings are held 
on the last Tuesday in February; in Essex and Franklin 
counties, town meetings are held the first Tuesday in 
March ; in Livingston County, town meetings are held 
the second Tuesday in March; in Columbia and Hamilton 
counties, town meetings are held the third Tuesday in 
March; in Nassau and Suffolk counties, town meetings 
held the first Tuesday in April; in the remaining 
counties of the state, except those included within the 
boundarie> of New York City, town meetings are held the 
rir>t Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 

Powers of the Town Meeting. The assembled voters 
in a town meeting may consider any business pertaining 
to the welfare of the town not prohibited by federal or 
state law. They may elect town officers — supervisor, 
clerk. a>se>.-nr>. collector, overseer of the poor, superin- 
tendent of highways, school directors, constables. Any 
qualified voter of the town is eligible to any office unless 
he already holds the office of county treasurer, district 
superintendent of schools, or school trustee, in which case 
he cannot hold the office of supervisor, since the super- 
visor distributes the state school money for his town. The 

officers of the town are elected by >ecret ballot in the same 
manner that state officers are chosen. The ballot contains 
the name- of the various candidates, and the voting is super- 
vised by inspectors of election. After the voting is finished, 
the meeting is open for general business by the presiding 

officer, who i- one of the justices of the peace. 'Hie town 
clerk is clerk of the town meeting. Any or all of the 



18 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

above duties may be performed at a special meeting of the 
town called for this purpose by the supervisor, together 
with certain other town officers, and upon the application 
of twenty-five taxpayers living within the town. 

The Supervisor. The supervisor is the chief executive 
officer of the town. In addition to his duties as town 
officer he represents the town in the board of supervisors, 
the legislative branch of the county government. As 
town officer he receives two dollars a day for time 
actually spent in performing his duties ; as county officer, 
four dollars a day. As town officer his duties are to receive 
and pay out all money raised for the public work of his 
town except that intended for the support of the poor and 
for highways, which goes to the respective officers in charge 
of this work for the town ; to receive and disburse the pub- 
lic school fund for the various districts of his town ; to act 
as a member of the town board. The supervisor is elected 
for two years. 

The Town Clerk. The town clerk is custodian of the 
town records and is clerk of the town meeting. He not 
only keeps the records of the town and the proceedings 
of the town meeting, but also records births, deaths, mar- 
riages, and files certificates, chattel mortgages, and other 
such papers as are required by law to be filed in his office. 
He receives two dollars a day for the time actually spent in 
the discharge of his duty, and fees for other duties. He is 
a member of the town board and assists the supervisor 
in preparing a list of jurors. 

The Assessors. 1 Each town elects three assessors to 

appraise the property of individuals residing in the town, 

in order to determine each property owner's share of the 

state, county, and town taxes. It is their duty to prepare 

1 Cities, like towns, have assessors with similar duties. 



THE TOWN 19 

the assessment roll for their town. Among other things 
this roll must contain the names of all taxable persons, 
with the statement of the real and personal property of 
each and its value. When this roll is completed, it is 
the duty of the assessors to give public notice that upon 
a certain day they will meet at a specified place to consider 
complaints against their valuation of property and correct 
any errors which may have crept into the roll. The day 
thus specified is called " grievance day," and any person 
who objects to his assosment may appear in person 
before the assessors and have his assessment corrected 
by " swearing <>u " his assessment, that is, by making oath 
that he has been overassessed. The assessors assist the 
supervisor and town clerk in preparing jury lists. They 
receive two dollars for actual time spent, and serve for 
two years. 

The Collector. When the assessors have finished their 
work and made out the assessment roll, it is turned over 
to the town clerk, who later delivers it to the supervisor. 
The board of supervisors at their annual meeting appor- 
tion to each town its share of the state and county tax. 
These taxes, together with the tax which each town raises 
for its own use, constitute the total tax which each town 
is to raise. To the tax roll thus completed the board of 
supervisors affix a warrant (authority) under the seal of 
the county, signed by the chairman and clerk of the board, 
directing the collector of the town (or other tax district — 
for example, village or city) to whom it is to be sent to 
collect from each person named in the roll the tax set 
opposite his name. 1 The collector then proceeds to collect 

1 You have learned in arithmetic how each man's share of a tax is ob- 
tained. First, you found the total tax to be raised for all purposes — 
state, county, town, village, or city. Then you divided this total tax by 



20 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the tax. He turns over to the superintendent of highways 
of the town, to the overseers of the poor, and to the super- 
visor such portions of the money as the town voted to 
spend for highways, care of the poor, and other expenses 
of the town respectively, and to the county treasurer the 
residue of the money collected. The collector must give a 
bond for the faithful performance of his duty. His term 
is for two years, and he receives a certain percentage of 
the tax collected as a compensation, it being supposed 
that if the amount he receives for his services depends 
upon the amount of tax he collects, he will make a better 
collector than he would if he were working for a fixed 
salary. He may cause property to be sold when the taxes 
are not paid. 

Constables. It is the business of the town to preserve 
peace. To enforce the laws against wrongdoers, each 
town has its police or constables, from one to five in num- 
ber. These officers arrest disorderly persons and take them 
before a justice of the peace for trial and punishment. 
They serve summonses (orders to appear in court) and 
subpoenas (orders to appear in court as witnesses in a suit 
at law). Thus the town performs a distinct duty in the 
care of our peace and happiness, the safety of our persons 
and property. 

Town Superintendent of Roads and Bridges. Our 
roads are the centers of commercial life in towns as streets 
are in cities. To have poor roads full of ruts and stones, 
poorly constructed sluices and bridges which endanger 
the lives of horses and ourselves, damage or destroy our 

the total assessed valuation of the property to be taxed. This gave the 
tax rate. Then you multiplied each man's assessment by this rate and the 
result was his tax. Problem: The taxable property of a town is assessed 
at $8,525,675. If your assessment is $6700, how much of the total tax of 
$73>475 will you pay? 



THE TOWX 21 

property, is very poor business. Yet we still find bridges 
washed away, stones in the ruts, and other obstructions 
in the highways of the country. These render travel diffi- 
cult for those passing through the town, and make it very 
expensive for farmers to get their produce to market and 
the necessary supplies home, since their teams cannot 
haul much more than half a load. It is therefore for the 
good of those who live in the country as well as of those 

jsing through.it that the roads be well built and well 
kept. In this matter the town has large responsibilities. 
encourage towns in good road-building, the state 
will assist to the extent oi from fifty to ninety percent 
of the cost of construction. This work is under the 
direction of the town superintendent of roads and bridges. 
His term is for two years, and he is paid a salary of five 
dollar- per day. He is charged with the general duty 
of keeping the roads, sluices, culverts, and bridges in 
repair and free from stones and snow. For this purpose 
he ma}' divide the town into sections, and employ persons 
with teams and tools. With the approval of the town 
board, he may purchase stone-crushers, steam rollers, 
traction engines, road machines, and other machinery and 
tools to be used for the construction of new roads and for 
the repair of old ones. With the approval of the county 
superintendent of roads, he may hire any or all of the 
above machines, the expense for which is to be borne 
by the town. In certain instances, new roads may be 
constructed at the joint expense of state, county, and 
town if such roads form a part of a count}- system of 
main highways. 

Overseers of the Poor. Two thousand years ago the 
question as to how the poor and the sick should be eared 
for by those who were well and able was under discussion. 



22 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

This discussion has been crystallized and handed down 
to us in the story of the good Samaritan. Read it, for 
nowhere else is our duty to our unfortunate neighbor so 
clearly stated. For the care of the town's poor one or two 
officers, known as overseers of the poor, are chosen at the 
town meeting for a term of two years. It is their duty to 
inquire carefully into the needs of the very poor, and to 
assist worthy cases at their homes, or, if the case warrants, 
to send the needy person to the county almshouse. This 
should not be done, however, except as a last resort. 
Relatives who are able are obliged to provide for their 
own poor. In many instances the aid needed is only 
temporary, being due to illness or to failure to secure work. 
The expense is borne by the town and the tax is voted at 
the town meeting. These officers are paid two dollars per 
day for actual services. 

Justices of the Peace. For the administration of all 
minor matters of both criminal and civil law (criminal 
law has more to do with violence in various forms, while 
civil law deals with property and other damages) towns 
elect four justices of the peace. A justice court is the 
lowest court in the state ; its jurisdiction does not extend 
to cases at law involving more than $200, while murderers 
and burglars cannot be tried in a justice court. They 
may, however, be examined and sent to jail to await the 
action of a higher court. If any decision of the justice 
court is not satisfactory to either party to the suit, it may 
be appealed, that is, taken to the county court for settle- 
ment. Justices of the peace are chosen for four years 
and are paid by fees. They are members of the town 
board, and when serving in such capacity, receive two 
dollars per day. A justice of the peace presides at the 
town meeting. 



THE TOWN 



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24 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Town Board. The town board consists of the 
supervisor, town clerk, and two or more justices of the 
peace. Its duties are to appoint inspectors of election, to 
pass upon all bills and accounts of the town officers, and to 
consider charges and accounts presented against the town. 
The board has certain joint duties with the town superin- 
tendent of highways. The members receive two dollars 
per day for services rendered. Appeals may be taken from 
the decision of the town board to the county board of 
supervisors, which has power to reverse decisions. 

Town Auditors. If the voters at the town meeting 
so desire, they may elect three auditors to perform the 
duties otherwise performed by the town board. It is not, 
however, the custom to do this. 

Fence Viewers. The superintendent of highways and 
the assessors constitute a board of fence viewers in each 
town. Their duties consist in adjusting disputes over 
line fences between adjoining owners and over the killing of 
sheep by dogs. They receive a fee for such services. 

School Directors. Two school directors are elected 
in each town for a term of five years. They receive two 
dollars per day for actual service, and are allowed travel- 
ing expenses. All the directors of a supervisory school dis- 
trict, which may include several towns, meet and organize, 
after which they elect by ballot a district superintendent of 
schools for a term of five years. There are about 2000 
school directors in the state. In their choice of a district 
superintendent, directors are limited by law to candidates 
who hold a license to teach in any of the public schools 
of the state, that is, in city and village schools as well as 
in country schools. The candidates in addition must have 
passed the state examination covering the teaching and 
supervising of courses in agriculture. 



THE TOWN 25 

Inspectors of Election. The number of inspectors of 
election depends upon the number of election districts 
in the town. There are four inspectors for each district, 
chosen by the town board in each year in which a town meet 
ing is held. 1 They are representatives of the two political 
parties casting the highest number of votes in the previous 
November election. Their duty is to serve at the election, 
checking off the name, from the registered list of voters, of 
b voter as lie casts his ballot. They also count the votes 
after the polls have been closed, and certify to the correct- 
no- of the returns. They serve for two years and are 
paid $4 to $6 per day for actual service. 

Vacancies. Vacancies in any of the offices of the town 
may bo filled by the town board. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Briefly state the history of town government in this 
country. 

2. What business is transacted at a town meeting? 

3. Who may vote at a town meeting? 

4. What are the qualifications for holding office in the town 
government? Are there any exceptions to these qualifications? 

5. Name the officers elected at a town meeting. 

6. When is the supervisor a town officer and when a county 
officer? 

7. Compare the executive power of the supervi>or with that 
of the sheriff and governor. 

8. What are the duties of the assessors? Explain fully. 
What i- meant by the expressions "grievance day," "-wearing 
off"? 

ided by paragraph 311 of the election law, 1914 edition. 



26 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

9. How is the total tax which the town is to raise made up ? 

10. To whom does the collector of the total tax assessed 
against the property of the town turn over the moneys thus 
collected ? 

11. Why is a bond required of the collector for the faithful 
performance of his duty? 

12. What principle is involved in paying the collector a com- 
mission rather than a salary in the collection of taxes? 

13. How many constables are there in your town ? What 
are their duties ? 

14. Who owns the roads and bridges in the town? Why are 
they of special concern to the people of the town ? to the people 
of the county? to the people of the state? 

15. What part do the state and county take in the build- 
ing of good roads m the town? Is this justifiable? Why? 

16. What is the name of the officer who has charge of the 

roads and bridges in the town? How is he elected? For how 
long? What is his compensation ? 

17. Why should a town be charged with the care of its poor? 
To what officers is this work intrusted ? 

18. Outline the proceedings in a justice court. 

19. What officers of the town constitute the town board? 
Mention the duties of the town board. 

20. If town auditors are elected at a town meeting, what 
body of town officers do they supplant ? 

21. What are the duties of the fence viewers, and what town 
officers constitute this board ? 

22. How many school directors are elected in each town? 
What are their duties? 



CHAPTER IV 

THE VILLAGE 

Why we have Villages. You have probably noticed 
that many villages are situated upon some body of 
water; frequently this body of water is a running stream 
furnishing water power. As the country became settled, 
this water power was utilized for the purpose of grinding 
the grain to save its being done by hand, as was the 
custom before we had gristmills. The miller exchanged 
his labor with farmers for food and clothing for his fam- 
ily, which of course he could not produce while attending 
the mill. The growing need of the farmers for w r agons 
and sleighs made the wheelwright necessary. He located 
on the same stream with the miller, that he too might 
use the water power to assist him in turning spokes and 
hubs for wheels and in shaping other parts of his wagons 
and sleighs. The blacksmith followed the wheelwright 
to iron the wagons and sleighs and to shoe the farmers' 
horses. Thus the surrounding country journeyed to the 
miller, the wheelwright, and the blacksmith, and we had 
the nucleus of the village. Soon it was found more e 
nomical to have the foodstuffs and clothing which could 
not be raised or manufactured in the community brought 
there by one man rather than for each to journey long 
distances for himself. Thus the merchant located Dear 
the miller and the wheelwright, and tlie village grew. In 
process of time the schoolmaster and the preacher fol- 

27 



28 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

lowed, manufactories increased, and the surplus goods and 
products were taken to other places and exchanged for 
things not produced by the community. Thus the little 
settlement grew into a village. Because of a large num- 
ber of families thus settling upon a comparatively small 
area, certain necessities arose, such as the need of fire and 
police protection, sidewalks, streets, health regulations, 
schools, etc., which did not exist before such settlements 
were formed. Hence the necessity for some organization 
and agreement concerning these matters. 

Relation of Village to Town. A village, whether or 
not it is incorporated, still remains a part of the town or 
towns in which it is located. Its residents pay taxes to 
the town government and are subject to the laws passed 
at the town meeting, in which they may lake part. For 
their own special purposes, however, a separate govern- 
ment may be formed, providing, of course, the village is 
sufficiently large to meet the requirements under state 
law, for villages, like towns, are created by state law, which 
strictly limits what a village may or may not do. 

Why a Separate Village Government is Needed. By 
the collection of a large number of buildings and the 
massing of people together on a small area, the dangers to 
life and property correspondingly increase, and special pre- 
cautions have to be taken in order to reduce this risk 
as much as possible. One of the means for reducing the 
risk to property is the procuring of an abundant water 
supply to be used in case of fire. In order to use this 
water supply in case of fire, it becomes necessary to bring 
the water in pipes into the village, distribute it through 
the streets, and provide fire apparatus. It has been 
found more economical for all to contribute toward a 
general supply and apparatus than for each one to have 




Tin. Work os nn: Fire Department 

rk saving life and property, one of tin- many <iire<t benefits of 
village and city government 



»9 



30 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

his own separate supply and apparatus to be used for the 
same purpose. In a similar way some protection to health 
has been secured by uniting upon a plan whereby garbage 
and other refuse shall be collected at the expense of the 
village and taken away and disposed of. Convenience 
in traveling has made it necessary to have sidewalks 
and paved streets, and to light the streets. There have 
been found necessary policemen to enforce the village and 
city regulations, courts in which to try offenders, larger 
schools than required in the country districts, and other 
activities and institutions of local importance, all of 
which have been caused by the settlement of a large 
number of people in a small area. The expense for 
maintaining these, as a matter of common justice, rests 
with those receiving the benefits and not witli the people 
of the towns. 

Formation of Villages. The duty of incorporating 
villages and restricting their powers of taxation, 
ment, borrowing money, contracting debts, loaning their 
credit, etc., is intrusted by the state constitution to the 
legislature with a view to preventing abuses along thi 
lines. The legislature has accordingly provided that a 
territory not exceeding one square mile, having a popula- 
tion of at least two hundred, not including a city or 
village already incorporated, may become incorporated. 
The first step toward such incorporation must be taken 
by the people. At least twenty-five adult freeholders 
(landowners) and residents of the territory must submit 
a proposition for incorporation to their supervisor. If 
he consents, the matter is submitted to the voters at 
a general election ; if not, the freeholders may appeal to 
the county court. In any case the proposition must be 
finally passed by the majority of the voters in the district 



THE VILLAGE 3 r 

concerned. If a majority approves, then, upon filing a 

certificate of their approval in the office of the county 
clerk, the village is incorporated. 

Villages Classified. For convenience in legislating, vil- 
lages have been divided according to population into 
four classes: Those of the first class must contain 5000 
inhabitants or over; those of the second class, from 3000 
to 5000 ; those of the third class, from 1000 to 3000 ; those 
of the fourth class, from 200 to 1000. Formerly a village 
desiring to incorporate had to apply to the legislature for a 
charter defining its boundaries, naming its officers, their 
duties, etc. ; now all this is provided for by general laws 
applying to all alike. In which class is your village? 

Village Officers and their Election. The officers of a 
village are the president, trustees, clerk, treasurer, assessors, 
police justices, street commissioners. These officers, with 
the exception of the commissioners, who are appointed by 
the trustees, and the clerk, who may be either appointed 
by the trustees or elected by the people, are elected 
in the villages throughout the state on the third Tuesday 
in March, unless the date coincides with that of the town 
meeting of the town in which any part of the village may 
be situated or with the general election, in which case 
the election is held on the following day. One of the 
reasons why a separate election is held for village officers 
i- to prevent the choosing of such officials whose duties 
are purely local from in any way being overshadowed by 
the election of higher officials such as state and federal. 
Thus the business of a village is kept separate and con- 
sidered on its own merit-. 

The Legislative Branch. The legislative branch of 
the village government consists of the village meeting, 
the board of trustees, and the village president. Villages 



32 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of the first class must have not less than two nor more 
than eight trustees ; of the second class, not less than two 
nor more than six; of the third and fourth classes, not 
more than four nor less than two trustees. 

The Village Meeting. Like the town meeting, the 
village meeting has legislative powers. It selects the vil- 
lage officers, and all questions relating to the large expen- 
diture of village funds must be submitted to the tax-paying 
voters of the village. Some of these questions are : Shall 
the village put in or extend the waterworks system, create 
or equip a fire department, build a police station, put 
in or extend a system of street lighting, street paving, 
sewerage or drainage, etc.? Upon all questions relating 
to expenditure of funds only taxpayers may vote; for the 
election of officers any qualified voter at a town meeting 
may vote. 

The Board of Trustees. The state law relating to 
villages provides that, among other duties, a board of 
trustees has the power to establish a lockup, pound, clock, 
and market ; to establish fire limits ; to name streets ; to 
employ an attorney ; to construct drains and regulate water 
courses; to establish and regulate a village water supply 
and provide lights. It also has all the powers of separate 
boards of fire, water, light, sewer, and cemetery commis- 
sioners, if the village has no such separate boards. The 
trustees may make ordinances for the preservation of the 
peace and for the order of the streets and public places of 
the village ; they may regulate public amusements, the 
speed of locomotives and cars at street crossings, the speed 
of automobiles and other power vehicles, the use of fireworks, 
inflammable materials, and gunpowder, and may issue cer- 
tain uniform licenses. The board holds an annual meeting 
on the Monday following the village meeting. A majority, 



THE VILLAGE i3 

including the village president, constitute a quorum to do 
business. Laws passed by the board of trustees are called 
ordinances. Milage trustees are elected for a term of 
two years, one half of their number being chosen at each 
annual village meeting (election). 

The Executive Branch. The executive branch of the 
village government consists of the village president, 
clerk, assessors, overseer of the poor, collector, street com- 
missioner, police, and such other officers and executive 
boards and commissions as the village may have. These 
officers are to carry out the wishes of the people as expressed 
in the annual village meeting, and the ordinances of the 
rd of trustees. 

The Village President. The chief executive officer 
of the village is the president, chosen by the voters at the 
annual village election for one year, and serves without 
pay. He is the head of the police force, as the governor is 
of the militia and the president of the United States is of 
the army. He presides at all meetings of the board of 
trustees and has a vote in that body, but does not have 
the veto power over its proceedings. It is his duty to 
enforce the ordinances passed by the board of trustees, 
and he may sue any person or corporation in the name 
of the village for the collection of any sum due it. He 
must be a property owner paying taxes for the support of 
the village government. Since the president lias a vote in 
the board of tru>tee>. he has legislative as well as execu- 
tive power. 

Other Executive Officers. The other executive officers 
of the village are the clerk, overseer of the poor, assessor-. 
collector, street commissioner, and treasurer. The treas- 
urer receives and pays out the public money belong- 
ing to the village; the collector collects the tax voted 



34 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

to defray the annual expenses for maintaining improve- 
ments and the village government; the assessors value 
the property upon which the tax is to be raised (see para- 
graph on assessors in Chapter III, pp. 18-19) > the clerk acts 
as clerk of the board of trustees and is also custodian of 
the public records of the village ; the commissioner of 
streets has charge of the streets, sidewalks, and bridges, 
under the direction of the board of trustees, and may also 
arrange for and supervise the disposal of garbage. 

The Judicial Branch. The judicial branch of the vil- 
lage consists of a police justice, who is elected every four 
years by the voters of the village at the annual election. 
Persons charged with the violation of the village ordi- 
nances are brought before the police justice, where they are 
tried; that is, a careful inquiry is made as to whether 
or not they have committed the offense as charged. If 
found guilty, the justice determines what their punish- 
ment is to be ; this is called a sentence. If they are shown 
to be innocent, the justice dismisses the charge against 
them and they go free. A constable usually makes the 
arrest, bringing the accused person before the police justice 
for trial. The police justice may direct that criminals 
be arrested, and he may hold a court of special sessions 
for the trial of misdemeanors (petty crimes) committed in 
the village. Inasmuch as a village may be sued or may 
sue in courts of law like an individual for any sum of money 
which it owes or which is due it, the board of trustees 
appoints a village attorney, whose duty it is to represent 
the interests of the village in all matters of law to which 
the village is a party. 

Board of Education. The large number of children 
in a village make large demands for schools and teachers. 
In order that their interests may be carefully looked after, 



THE VILLAGE 35 

a board of education of not less than three nor more than 
nine members is elected at the annual charter election 
of the village, the ticket being marked " for school trustee/ 1 
Incorporated villages are usually organized into a union 
free school district, and as such are entirely free from the 
village government in all matters pertaining to the educa- 
tion of the children of the village. The expenditure of 
sums of money for school buildings or extensions, 
must be submitted to the voters, but in all 
minor expenditures for repairs, extensions, etc. the board 
all authority. It also has full authority 
ribe th< 1 se of study, the textbooks to be used, 
and rk of the schools; to hire duly 

qualified teacheis, janitors, and librarian; to provide for 
the heating, lighting, and cleaning of the buildings; to 
insure all school property and have full charge of the same ; 
1 he medical inspection of the pupils, estab- 
»ols and kindergartens, and otherwise to 
an efficient school or system of schools. For 
the maintenance of these things the board of education 
i- empowered to raise and collect a tax upon the taxable 
i the village. The officers of the board of 
education are a president, treasurer, clerk, and collector. 
who perform the same duties that these officer- perform in 
the school district. In villages of five thousand inhabitants 
or more the board of education may appoint a super- 
int> tools who b cutive officer of the 

board, recommending teachers, textbooks, supplies, and 
study, library books and apparatus, and rule.-. 
and regular' : the management of the schools. 

Public Utilities. By public utilities we mean th< 

md ueo furnished by some central author- 

ities for example, Street light-, water supply. 'IT 



36 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

utilities are usually supplied by a private corporation, 
although in some instances they are furnished by the 
village. The water supply is usually provided by the vil- 
lage, and the tendency seems to be toward public ownership. 
The reason for this is apparent when we consider that 
water is needed for the cleaning of our streets, the flushing 
of our sewers, and for our fire department, as well as in our 
homes. An abundant and pure water supply in 
the value of property, makes life more secure, reduces 
the risk of loss of property by tire, reduces thereby 
the cost of insurance, and makes any village more 
desirable for business and residence. Where these utili- 
ties are conducted by private corporations, they come 
under the supervision of the state public-service com- 
mission, whose duty it is to look after the rights of 
individuals. 

Streets and sidewalks are usually public property. 
These are laid out, built, and maintained by general 
ordinances passed by the board of trustees. The laying 
out, building, paving, and repairing is a public expense, 
to be borne by the property owners of the village. The 
method of raising the tax is sometimes to divide it be- 
tween the village as a whole and the abutting property 
of the street improved. Sidewalks are built by the 
owners of the abutting property. The same method is 
followed in the construction of sewers and drains that 
is, either making the cost a general charge upon the whole 
village or dividing it between the village and the abutting 
property. Streets are to be used for the general purpose 
of travel and traffic. They may also be used on the surface 
for street cars and for poles, for electric light, telegraph, 
and telephone wires, and beneath the surface for sewers 
and water and gas mains. Whenever streets are to be so 



THE VILLAGE 37 

used by private corporations, consent must first be had 
from the village. This consent is called a franchise. A 
franchise is obtained by making application to the village 
trustees, who ma}- vote to grant one for a limited number 
of years or for a longer period. A franchise is an agreement 
between the village and a private corporation, giving the 
corporation permission to do certain things and to use the 
streets for certain purposes, in return for which it is 
to establish the new utilities within the village. These 
Franchises usually relate to street lighting, water supply, 
street railways, and telephones. General!} speaking, a fran- 
chise should be an agreement for a limited number of years, 
in order to protect the corporation and also the village. 
A certain per cent of the gross earnings of the corporation 
under the franchise should go into the treasury of the village. 

Fire Protection. For protection against fire, a fire 
department is organized. This usually consists of volun- 
teers, but occasionally of paid firemen. The village always 
supplies hose, hose carts, engines, hooks and ladders, and 
various other devices for the successful fighting of fire. 
It also controls hydrants in different parts of the village 
for the use of the firemen. 

The Board of Health. The board of health has under 
it- immediate supervision the general health of the village. 
It has the right to quarantine houses where there are cases 
of contagiou- diseases; to test the water supply as to its 
purity and suggest methods of improvement; to see that 
all refuse, garbage, etc. is properly cared for. Where 
there arc sewers, the board has the right to force all owner- 
of public and private property to connect with them, and 
all attention to the need for cleaning the streets in case 
of neglect of the regular >treet commissioner, where there 
is such an officer. The board of health is under the direct 



38 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



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THE VILLAGE 39 

supervision of the state commissioner of health, who may 
order a quarantine of a village, town, or section of the 
State. In the ease of diseases dangerous to the health of 
the state (for example, the hoof and mouth disease among 
cattle in 1915), the state takes control and, with the help of 
local authorities, stamps them out. The care of the public 
health is important. Persons having diseases which can be 
given to others should gladly submit to quarantine. Failure 
to observe quarantine regulations is punishable by law. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Show how natural advantages determine to some extent 
the location of a villa 

2. Show how the village, whether incorporated or otherwise, 
ill subject to the town government. 

3. Why is a separate government needed for the village? 

4. What authority does the state constitution give to the 
legislature over the affairs of the village? 

5. What are the steps necessary to bring about the in- 
corporation of a village ? 

6. Give the different classes of villages and tell to what 
class your village belongs. 

7. Mention the officers of the village and one duty per- 
formed by each. 

8. What i- the advantage of holding the village election the 
third Tuesday in March instead of at the general election in 

ember? 

9. Mention the three parts of the legislative branch of the 
village government. Give one illustration of legislation under 
each branch. 

10. Outline the work clone at the village meeting. Why 
ild all questions relating to a large expenditure of funds he 
submitted to the tax-paying voters of the village? 



40 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

11. What village authority has the power to establish tire 
limits, employ an attorney, regulate the village water supply? 

12. Name the executive officers of the village and one duty 
of each. 

13. Compare the chief executive officer of the village with 
the chief executive officer of the town and county. 

14. W T ho tries persons charged with the violation of a village 
ordinance ? 

15. What are the duties of the village attorney? 

16. Show why it is better to separate the schools of a village 
and their management from the village government. 

17. Give the powers and duties of a board of education and 
the method of their election. 

18. Show how an abundant and pure water supply inrr 
the value of property. 

19. What is a franchise, and how is it obtained? 

20. Why is it better for a village to limit its franchis 



CHAPTER V 



THE CITY 



General Statement. A city might be called an over- 
wn village. At one time it was a village, and in the 
early beginning probably a very small settlement. What 
has been said in the chapter on The Village applies 
equally to the city. The organization and government 
arc similar. The city, therefore, might be characterized 

an intensified village. Like villages, cities are usually 
located in the neighborhood of some natural advantage, 
such as water power, mineral deposits, excellent sea or 
lake port, or navigable river. Since our cities were 
located before the days of railroads, canals, steamships, 
and electricity, the reason for thus selecting a spot favored 
by nature is even more apparent than under present con- 
ditions. In the study of your city it is well to note these 
natural advantages and to learn as much as possible about 
it- early history. Learn also about its government, its 
various activities, what persons are responsible, and to whom 
they are responsible, for the faithful discharge of the duties 
connected with these activities, how people get appointed 
or elected to the positions which they hold, how delin- 
quent officials may be made to do their duty, the methods 
used in governing other cities — in short, ascertain in detail 
those things which lead to an intelligent understanding of 
the conditions in your city, win' they exist, and how they 
may be continued or changed. 

41 



42 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Street. The streets and the parks of a city are 
owned and cared for by the city, and include most of 
the unoccupied space within the city limits, except vacant 
lots here and there which are private property. It will 
be seen, therefore, that the street in a city is more em- 
phatically the center of all city life — that is, of traffic, 
travel, utilities, etc. — than in the village or in the country, 
because of the difference in density of the population. 
Every one is interested in the streets of his city — in 
having them well laid out, well paved and curbed, prop- 
erly bridged, cleaned, and drained, provided with suitable 
gutters, sidewalks, sewers, etc. It is our duty to know- 
how these matters are brought about, how permission 
may be obtained to use the streets for private ( ^ r ain 
well as for public good, for what streets may be used 
below the surface, on the surface, above the surface, who 
pays for all of these things, how the money is obtained, 
and the many other interesting details about our streets 
which demand constant care and expense. 

How Streets are laid out: New Problems. There 
is little or no difficulty experienced in the matter of laying 
out streets or putting through a new street in the early 
beginning of a city. Later, however, when the city has 
grown and the property becomes exceedingly valuable, 
difficulties arise which did not before exist. In the ease 
of difficulty, however, at the beginning or at a later 
period, the process of taking private property for public 
purposes is the same. This process is called exercising the 
right of eminent domain (see p. 97). Art. I, sect. 7, of the 
constitution provides that private property shall not be 
taken for public use without due process of law and 
without just compensation. Due process of law would 
be for the city to present to the supreme court a petition 







. \C CHE S 

Health depends largely upon cleamlitk \ I her direct benefi 

ment is the removal of refuse from the sir 



43 



44 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

to have the street put through in the desired locality. 
The supreme court would appoint three commissioners, 
whose duty it would be to take evidence as to the need 
of the street and the value of the property. If the street 
is ordered by the commissioners, the property is said to be 
condemned and may then be used for the public good. 
The owner of the property is awarded suitable damages ; 
that is, he is paid for his property. These proceedings are 
frequently referred to as condemnation proceedings. It not 
infrequently happens that streets are laid out by the owner 
of the property, who also provides proper drains, sewers, 
curbs, sidewalks, lights, etc. at his own expense, knowing 
full well that these improvements will increase the value 
of his property and make it more salable. It sometimes 
happens also that if a city will agree to make the above 
improvements through private property, the owner will 
give the city the right of way through his property, since 
the value of the remainder will be increased. In these 
last two instances condemnation proceedings, with tin- 
attendant expenses, would be unnecessary. 

Use of the Streets. Streets and country roads are used 
primarily for travel and traffic. These streets are expen- 
sive, and their first cost for grading, paving, etc. is borne 
by the abutting property. Along them we have the 
right to pass for the ordinary purposes of social and com- 
mercial life, but we have no right to interfere with the 
same rights of others. We would not, therefore, be per- 
mitted to drive through them at a high rate of speed, to 
make a speech on a street corner, or to organize a parade, 
without first obtaining permission from the proper officer. 
In congested centers, convenience and safety require that 
we observe traffic regulations and pass down the right- 
hand side of the street. Streets should not be paved 



THE CITY 45 

until water, gas, and sower mains are laid and connections 
brought inside the curb line for each building and e K'h 
vacant lot, in order that the unnecessary expense of tear- 
ing up the pavement and relaying it may be avoided. 

Village and city streets are used for other purposes, 
among which are the following: (i) below the surface 
for sewer and drain pipes, gas and water mains, electric 
light, telephone, and telegraph wires, and subways for all 
kinds of traffic ; (2) on the surface -for all kinds of vehi- 
cles, pedestrians, trolley cars, steam railways at grade 
crossings or running parallel with and through street- at 
grade, and on the sides for electric light, telephone, and 
telegraph poles; (3) above the surface — for elevated -team 
and electric railroads to facilitate traffic, especially in con- 
gested centers. 

How Permission to use the Streets is Gained. As a rule, 
cities own their sewerage and drainage systems, and the tend- 
ency seems to be toward owning their water systems. The 
successful use of sewers compels the use of the public water 
supply, and this is equivalent to compelling people to pat- 
ronize a private enterprise if the supply is not publicly 
owned. Then, too, the efficiency of the fire and street-clean- 
ing departments is largely dependent upon the abundance 
and efficiency of the water supply. There is a further tend- 
ency for cities to own or control the electric light and gas 
plant-. In a majority of cases, however, such public utili- 
ties as those mentioned above are owned and operated by 
private corporations. When this is the case, it becomes 
necessary for these private companies to obtain permis- 
sion to use the Streets for their pipe line- below the surface 

or for their poles along the sides. This permission is 

grantee] by the common council, and i- called a franchise, 
or charter, defining the lights, duties, and limitation- of 



46 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the company named in the franchise. There is a growing 
tendency toward limiting these franchises to a definite 
period of time, sufficiently long to protect the company 
making the large investment and sufficiently short to pro- 
tect the city granting the privilege, which privilege usually 
establishes a monopoly in the commodity manufactured 
or supplied by the company. Corporations arc sometimes 
required to pay into the treasury of the city a certain 
per cent of their gross earnings, thus sharing in the burden 
of maintaining the city government, [nasmuch as the 
franchise empowers a corporation to tear up pavements, 
which it must replace but which it can seldom lay as well 
as originally, it is only just that the corporation bear 
full share of the expense of city government. 

A City's Business. There are many things which can 
be better and more economically done by the city than 
by individuals. These various matters are performed 
under the direction of well-organized departments of 
education, health, fire, police, justice, care of the poor, 
finance, etc., all except the department of education being 
responsible to the mayor and common council. This work 
calls for a large number of employees, and for the same 
business and executive ability that is required in managing 
a large department store. It makes no difference whether 
it is New r York, San Francisco, or Peking, the same principles 
of pure business are involved. Politics, therefore, should 
form no part in the selection of city officials, who should 
be chosen for their known business ability and sterling 
integrity. An employee of the city drawing a day's wage 
should be made to render the same service that he would ren- 
der a private individual. This, however, is not always done. 

The City Charter. The source of city government is 
the charter granted by the state legislature. This charter, 



THE CITY 47 

or constitution, defines the boundaries of the city, divides 
it into wards, and names the officers to be elected, setting 
forth their powers and duties and authorizing the citizens 
to elect such officers. When a city is thus organized, 

it becomes independent of the town or towns included 
wholly or in part within the city boundary. Where the 
whole town or towns are thus included, town governments 
cease altogether, and the same is true for that part of 
a town included within the boundaries of a city. 

The government of a city, like that of the nation, state 1 , 
and county, is divided into legislative, executive, and judi- 
cial departments, but no department of the city government 
exercises authority not specifically granted it by its char- 
ter, which is the fundamental law made for it by the state 
legislature. A city government, therefore, is one of strictly 
delegated powers. 

Cities Classified. All cities are divided, according 
to the state constitution, into three classes. The first 
class includes cities having a population of 175,000 or 
more; the second class includes those cities having a 
population of over 50,000 and less than 175,000; the third 
class includes all cities having a population of 50,000 or 
less. In granting a charter the legislature does not lose 
its power to regulate the city's affairs. It may pass gen- 
eral laws affecting all the cities of a class or of all classes, 
or it may pass special laws relating to a single city or to 
a less number than is represented by a whole class. Gen- 
eral city laws may be enacted by the legislature at will, 
and thu> the charter- become modified. In the case of 

ial city laws, however, the fact is different. Such 

laws have to be referred to the mayor of the city con- 
cerned, to be considered by him in cities of the 6rs1 class, 

and by him and the common council in all other cities, 



48 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

and returned to the legislature if in session, or to the 
governor if the legislature is not in session, within fifteen 
days, together with a memorandum of approval or dis- 
approval. If the bill is approved by the city authorities, 
it then becomes, like any other bill, subject to the approval 
or veto of the governor. If the city disapprove-, the leg- 
islature may repass the bill, and it is then subject, like 
any other bill, to the action of the governor. Before such 
action is taken, however, the legislature must provide for 
a public hearing on the bill, due notice of which must 
be given to the city or cities concerned. 

Choosing of City Officials. In cities of the first and 
second classes, city elections are held in the odd-numbered 
years, and the tendency is to adopt this custom in cities 
of the third class. The reason t'<>r thus holding city 

elections is that federal and state elections are held in 
the even-numbered year.-, and it i> thought that interest 
in these larger elections would minimize the importance 
of local affairs. While city affairs, as has been pointed 
out, are practically of a business nature, nevertheless 
political parties strive to intrench themselves in power in 
both federal and state matters by the advantage gained 
in controlling city government and patronage. It IS the 
duty of citizens, however, to break up this custom and 
to insist upon the choice of men whose business ability, 
honesty, and efficiency are beyond question. One of the 
reasons why it is at times difficult to get such men to 
become candidates for office is because of severe and 
usually baseless criticism to which they are subjected 
from the day of their nomination until the close of their 
administration. 

Legislative Department. The legislative department 
of a city consists of a board of aldermen or common 



] 



THE CITY 49 

council and the people. 1 The members of this body arc 
elected either by wards, each ward electing one member, 
or at large by the whole city. The term of oiiwc \> for 
two years. The legislative powers of the board of alder- 
men or common council are defined by the city charter 
and are restricted to the city limits. The board may pass 
ordinances regulating the use of the streets, sewers, drains, 
docks, parks, and public buildings, and for the government 
of the city's local affairs. It may also levy taxes for the 
support of the city government and for other local pur- 
poses, as provided by state law; borrow money for city 
improvements under certain restrictions ; fix the salaries 
of city officials ; apportion the public money for use by 
the different departments of the city's activities; grant 
franchises, licenses ; and regulate traffic and certain trades. 
In cities of the second class the city's business is carried 
on by the mayor and common council, and the depart- 
ments of public instruction, public works, finance, public 
safety, assessment and taxation, charities and correction, 
justice, estimate and apportionment, and law. Some 
cities of the third class also have many of the above 
departments. 

Executive Department. The mayor is the chief exec- 
utive officer of the city. He is elected by the voters of 
the whole city. His duties are similar to those of the 
governor ; for instance, he is the head of the police force, as 
the governor is of the militia, and it is his duty to preserve 
tee and enforce the ordinances of the common council. 
In some cities he is the presiding officer of this body, 
while in others a president of the board of aldermen is 

1 City charters usually provide that questions involving the expenditures 
shall first be submitted to vote of tin- people 
l ipter XVIII. 



50 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

elected by the voters of the entire city. Like the governor, 
the mayor has the power of veto over the acts of the council, 
which body, however, may repass the measure by a two- 
thirds vote, when the ordinance becomes local law with- 
out the mayor's approval. Many of the other executive 
officers connected with the departments mentioned in the 
preceding paragraph are appointed by the mayor, approved 
by the common council, and many of them may be re- 
moved by the mayor. Article V, section 9, of the state 
constitution, however, provides that in exercising his power 
of appointment the mayor shall be subject to the civil- 
service laws of the state, and appointments shall be made 
according to merit and fitness, to be ascertained as far 
as possible by competitive examinations, preference being 
given to honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the 
United States who took pari in the late Civil War. When 
the mayor is not the presiding officer of the common 
council, and frequently when he is, he prepares a message 
outlining to the council such matters as in his judgment 
demand their attention. Thus it will be seen that the 
mayor has both legislative and executive power, and that 
his duties are similar to those of the president and the 
governor, ovei a much smaller field. 

Other Executive Officers. Associated with the mayor in 
the executive work of the city are the treasurer or chamber- 
lain, comptroller, assessors, tax collector (when this work 
is not done by the chamberlain), city attorney, street com- 
missioners, and the heads of the various departments 
mentioned above (p. 46). A large number of these offi- 
cials are appointed by the mayor ; some of them are elected 
by the people. Their work is sufficiently indicated by their 
names and by the outline given in the chapter on The 
Village. Inasmuch as the duties of officials vary in different 



THE CITY 51 

cities, to understand one's own city a study of the city 
charter is necessary. Get a copy from your city clerk. 

Judicial Department. The judicial department consists 
of one or more judges elected by the voters of the whole 
city. In the city of Greater New York a certain number 
of the city judges are appointed by the mayor, and a 
certain number elected by the people. City courts try 
cases for the violation of some city ordinances; they are 
also a part of the judicial system o\ the state, and as 
such try cases involving the violation of state laws both 
civil and criminal. If the sum involved in a civil suit is 
large, or if the offense in a criminal case is of a more serious 
nature, the case is tried by a higher state court. For the 
trial of offenses committed by children the larger cities have 
iblished juvenile courts. Again, in the matter of city 
court-, it will be necessary to study the charter of your 
city, since the number and organization of the courts differ 

nsiderably in the different cities. 

Term of City Officers. Many city officers ma}' be re- 
moved by state authority for sufficient cause. In all 
cities of the first and second classes, city officers in the 
and executive departments are elected for a 
term of two year- -a plan which is also being quite gener- 
ally adopted in the cities of the third das.-. Appointive 
usually have the same Length of term as the elective 
officers who make the appointments, although in some 
cities commissioners of education, of public works, of lire 
and police departments, and some other- are appointed 

terms. Where there is more than one city 
judge the term i- usually from four to six years if the 
judges d, and for a Longer term if appointed 

by the mayor. The salaries for the same officer differ 
so widely that it i- inexpedient even to make a general 



52 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

statement. In some cities the mayor and aldermen receive 
no compensation, and this is the rule for commissioners 
of education. It is becoming quite general, however, to 
hire an expert for the different appointive offices of a city 
government, and to expect each to be as efficient as for 
a private corporation. 

Board of Education. The educational affairs of cities are 
intrusted to a board of education, either appointed by the 
mayor or elected, as are other city officials, by direct vote 
of the people. The power of the board of education 
differs in different cities. In some the board of educa- 
tion has full power over the money to be expended 
for running the schools; in others this power ultimately 
rests with the common council or board of estimate 
and apportionment. In general, however, the duties 
a board of education in a city are the same a> in 
village (p. 34). All matters pertaining to the care of 
buildings, repairs, heating, lighting, course- of study, 
apparatus, supplies, books, qualifications, and salaries 
teachers and other school officials are questions wholly 
within the care of the board of education. It is their 
duty to see that the provisions of the compulsory 
school law are observed. Their work also extend- to a 
larger variety of schools — truant, training school for 
teachers, technical schools, etc. — not usually found in 
villages. The board of education appoints a superin- 
tendent of schools, who becomes the executive officer of the 
board and is charged w r ith the responsibility of carrying 
out its rules and regulations. In addition, the superintend- 
ent of schools usually determines the course of stud}' ; rec- 
ommends the textbooks, supplies, and apparatus ; makes 
general suggestions regarding the improvements of the 
school buildings and grounds; calls attention to the need 






THE CITY 53 

of new buildings, proper heating and ventilating systems, 
medical inspection of the children; inquires into, deter- 
mines the fitness of, and recommends for appointment 
candidates for teaching; and performs many other duties 
Looking toward the increased efficiency of the schools. 

Public Utilities. In cities, as in villages, water, gas, 
and electric lights are furnished by some central authority 
(p. 35), It is important that you know whether this service 
in your city is performed by a private corporation or 
by the city itself ; whether the sendee is adequate to 
the needs, and if not, how it can be made so ; the cost of 
the service as compared with the cost of similar service 
in other cities ; the tendency toward public ownership and 
the reasons for this (for example, the relation of the water 
supply to health, insurance, value of property, etc.). 

Street-Cleaning. Because of its close relation to the 
health of the city, one of the important departments of 
city administration is that of street-cleaning. In congested 
centers it becomes necessary to wash the streets by flush- 
ing them with water from hydrants. The removal of 
sn< >w from the streets, where this is done, as in Xew York 
City, materially increases the cost of cleaning, but seems 
necessary because of the fact that wheeled vehicles are 
used the year round, and that, if not removed, the melting 
snow is likely to result in blocked gutters and drain-. 
F<>r this work large forces of men are employed. In New 
rk City these men are required to wear white uniform.-. 
Why i> this? 

Building Laws and Permits: New Problems. On 

ount of the great value of land in cities, due to the 

tendency to crowd into the business Sections, it ha- been 

found profitable and convenient to build very high build- 
►me of them over forty stories high. If these great 



54 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

buildings, holding thousands of people, are improperly 
constructed, they are likely to collapse or become mere 
traps in case of fire. Or they may not be properly sup- 
plied with water and sewer connections, and be so poorly 
lighted and ventilated as seriously to endanger the public 
health. To avoid these difficulties the city council and the 
state legislature have passed building regulations and deter- 
mined fire districts to which all must conform. Within 
these districts only fireproof buildings may be constructed. 
A person desiring to build within the city limits must 
obtain a building permit from the proper officer and follow 
prescribed regulations as to water and sewer connections, 
lighting and ventilating, plumbing, heating, materials to 
be used in the construction, and many other important 
details. Thus the city and the state work in harmony 
for the protection of the individual. As the city grows 
it becomes necessary to rid its streets of all poles and other 
obstructions, such as overhead wires ^ etc., wherever possible, 
to make the fighting of fire easier. When wires are thus 
removed they are placed in conduits below the surface of 
the street. Another perplexing problem is the proper 
disposal of garbage. Formerly this garbage was emptied 
into streams. Now resort is had to chemical processes and 
to burning in order further to protect the public health 
by ceasing to pollute the streams. While there are numer- 
ous ojther problems peculiar to cities, these few will suffice 
to show the difficulties which confront city officials and call 
for the highest order of ability. 

Police and Fire Protection. We usually think of the 
police as officers who try to bring to justice those who 
have transgressed the law in some way, and this is one 
of their chief duties. But there is another duty equally 
important, and that is the prevention of crime. It is the 






THE CITY 55 

duty of these officers to be about the city looking after 
our property and our persons before crime lias been com- 
mitted. In congested centers they take charge of traffic. 
At times it is quite impossible for pedestrians to cross the 
street without their aid, because of the number of cars 
and vehicles. A well-organized and well-equipped lire de- 
partment will make it practically impossible for destruc- 
tive tires to occur frequently, if there are proper building 
regulations. Where such a department exists, insurance 
rates will be comparatively lower and property more 
valuable. Policemen are always paid for their services; 
firemen frequently give their services in the smaller cities, 
but are paid in the larger ones. The men engaged in 
both the police and tire departments frequently are placed 
in great danger. We should therefore render them all 
dble aid and encouragement. 

City Institutions. All cities have a jail or police station; 
some have more than one. In the larger cities the penal 
institutions are imposing structures and under present 
conditions seem to be necessary. In some cities the 
sick are taken care of to some extent in hospitals at the 
expense of the city. The poor are helped and the unfor- 
tunate assisted in a number of ways. Added to these insti- 
tutions are those supported by churches and philanthropic 
organizations. In the more congested districts play- 
grounds, recreation pier-, roof garden-, and baths are 
maintained at public and private expense lor the care and 

mfort of children. In some cities free lectures, concert-. 
and mu>eum> are maintained. 

City Finances. The cost of all this service mentioned 
in this chapter i- frequently very large and calls for the 

expenditure of ]ar.L r <' -urn- of money. Ascertain what it 

>ts in your city. The sources from which this money 



56 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

comes are principally as follows : from taxes upon real 
estate and personal property; from special assessm< 
on property improved by a pavement, sewer, etc. ; from 
licenses of various kinds ; from fines imposed by th< 
on individuals or corporations; from fees for the recording 
of documents, services, etc. ; from the rental of public prop- 
erty. Assessors are chosen to appraise real estate and per- 
sonal property (p. 18). This assessment forms the ba 
for the tax. The city budget is made up from the esti- 
mates for administrating the city government, the care of 
its institutions, improvements, etc. The sum to be raised 
is determined by subtracting the sum of the special tax 
licenses, etc. received, from the amount of the budget. 
The total tax to be raised is therefore less than the budget, 
which includes the sums received from various -our* i 
The tax rate is determined by dividing the total tax to be 
raised by the total assessed valuation. Main- people con- 
ceal their personal property and thus make it difficult for 
the assessors to estimate correctly it> real value. It is 
well to compare your tax rate with that in other citi 
from year to year. A comparison of this rate with the 
state and federal tax is likely to be misleading uni 
we remember that the federal tax is indirect — that is, 
appears as a part of the price of an article and not as 
a tax — and that the state tax, aside from the canal 
tax, is received from taxing inheritances, corporation^ 
stock trading, licenses, etc., and not by a direct property 
tax. However, these methods place the taxes upon the 
people just as certainly as though they were not levied in 
the present roundabout way, for the ultimate consumer 
pays all the bills, whether it be for constructing a rail- 
road, building a battleship, or paving !a street. Any good 
business man will verify this part of our work. To 









THE CITY 



57 



ascertain, then, what tax the people are paying, find out 
what the state budget is, and that will be the amount ; 
and the same is true in the federal government. The 
state puts a limit upon a city as to the amount of indebt- 
edness it may incur. 

Commission Government. In recent years, however, 
a deeper interest is being taken in the management of city 
affairs, and a new form, known as the " commission plan," 
is being tried. This plan places the management of the 
city's affairs in the hands of three or five men, called com- 
missioners. Ward lines are obliterated, and the commis- 
sioners are chosen to represent the whole city. By nomi- 
nating the commissioners at direct primaries (a place 
where the individual voter may express by ballot his choice 
as to candidate), and by using the " New Zealand ballot " 
(by printing the names of the candidates alphabetically 
without designating their political affiliations), partisan 
politics are eliminated and the business affairs of the 
city conducted in accordance with well-established business 
principles. The commissioners are usually chosen for a 
term which varies from two to six years, and are subject 
to the initiative, referendum, and recall (see p. 399) ; that 
is. if the commissioners do not pass ordinances which the 
people desire, the people may by ballot instruct them to 
do so (the initiative); or if the commissioners pass ordi- 
nances which the people do not want, the people may by 
ballot veto such Legislation by registering their disapproval 
(the referendum I ; or if the official acts of any commissioner 
are objectionable to the people at any time during his term 
of office, the people may by ballot dismiss him from office 
recall >. Acting together, the commissioners constitute 
the legislative branch of the city government ; acting 
irately, they constitute both the executive and judicial 



58 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

branches. One of their number is chosen mayor and 
acts as commissioner of public a fairs; one has charge of 
the police, fire, and health departments and is called the 
commissioner of public safety; one has charge of the 
public buildings, streets, bridges, sidewalks, parks, and 
other public works and is called the commissioner of 
public works; one has charge of the city's finances — 
taxes, licenses, and revenue from other sources — and is 
called the commissioner of finance; one has charge of all 
the city's legal business, including its courts, both civil 
and criminal, and is culled the commissioner of justice. 
Sometimes this department of justice is delegated to a 
bureau, and the department of public works divided into 
two departments — the one dealing with work of a perma- 
nent nature, such as the laying out of a new street; the 
other with that of maintenance, such as keeping the street 
clean. Each of the above departments is divided into a 
number of bureaus charged with the detailed administra- 
tion of affairs, but directly responsible to the commissioner 
in charge of the department. All necessary assistants are 
appointed by the commissioners and may be removed by 
them. Contracts for the erection of public buildii 
street paving, sewers, drains, parks, and other city improve- 
ments, and the granting of franchises, are entirely in the 
hands of the commissioners, limited only by the city 
charter, the initiative, referendum, and recall. As yet no 
uniform plan for commission government has become stand- 
ardized, and changes are being rapidly made. In Niagara 
Falls and Dayton a modification known as the city-manager 
plan is being tried. The commission chosen by the people in 
turn chooses a business manager, who acts in relation to the 
business affairs of the city as does the manager of any 
corporation. 



THE CITY 



59 



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60 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. In what general features are cities like villages? 

2. Why are large cities usually located on some navigable 
body of water, or near water power or some mineral deposit? 

3. Why is the street such an important feature of city life? 

4. What is " eminent domain"? How are new streets in a 
city laid out? 

5. For what may streets be properly used? How may in- 
dividuals obtain the use of the streets for private gain? 

6. What is the argument for granting limited franchises? 

7. Define "condemnation proceedings,' 1 "franchise," "pub- 
lic utilities." 

8. If a private corporation is given permission to lay gas 
mains through the streets, this carries with it the right to tear 
up the streets to repair those mains even to the blocking of 
traffic. Is this any reason why such corporations should pay 
a certain percentage of their gross earnings into the city's 
treasury in addition to their regular property tax? Discuss 
fully the principle involved. 

9. Mention the principal departments of city government 
which have to do with the administration of a city's business. 

10. What is the source of a city's authority? How is it 
obtained ? 

11. What becomes of the town or county government when 
they are wholly included within the city's boundaries? 

12. By granting a charter to cities, does the state lose its 
control over city affairs ? 

13. May the state change a city's charter without the city's 
consent ? Explain fully. 

14. How are cities classified? To which class does your 
city belong? 

15. What advantages are there in holding city elections 
separate from state and federal elections? 



THE CITY 6 1 

16. Compare the business oi a city with that of a department 

re, and show their points oi similarity and difference. !n the 
administration oi city affairs, arc the same qualities needed in 
officials as in the heads oi departments in any great busines 

17. Why is it so difficult to get men of great business and 
executive ability to become candidates for office? 

18. Who is the chief executive of a city? What legislative 

has he? 

19. Explain the duties of the city manager 



CHAPTER VI 

GREATER NEW YORK 

General Statement. In general. New York City is the 
same as other cities of the state. But because of its great 
size, having within its boundaries the five counties of 
Kings, Queens, New York, Richmond, and The Bronx (one 
half of the entire population of the state), it seems well to 
consider it briefly, pointing out wherein it differs in its 
organization from other cities. The legislature of 1897 
granted New York a new charter, uniting several cities and 
villages which already had charters into one great city. 
This act canceled all the charters of the villages and 
cities within the boundaries of the greater city of New- 
York thus created; it also placed large areas of common 
farm lands, within the five counties above named, within 
the city limits. The charter provided for the threefold 
division of the city government characteristic of all forms 
of American government: namely, legislative, executive, 
And judicial. The state legislature has the same authority 
over the city of New York that it has over other cities, 
protecting the rights of its citizens in the same manner. 

New York Legislative Department : its Board of Alder- 
men. The board of aldermen constitutes New York's chief 
legislative body. In matters of detail it shares its legis- 
lative authority with the board of education in questions 
pertaining to the schools, with the board of estimate and 
apportionment in matters pertaining to franchises for the 

62 







Medical Inspection \\d a Pure-milk Di pot (below) 

iving tree service under the direction of 

the city board of health. Impure milk ta the means <>f spreading <Ii 
Medical id prevent- 'li-t 



63 



64 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

use of the streets and other public property, with the board 
of health in matters relating to the general health regula- 
tions of the city, and with the park commissioners in matters 
pertaining to the public parks. The city is divided into 
sixty-seven districts, and each district elects one member 
to the board of aldermen. The president of the board of 
aldermen is elected by the voters of the entire city at the 
same time and for the same term that the mayor is elected. 
His salary is $7500 per year, (The president of the board 
of aldermen is acting mayor of the city during the absence 
or disability of the mayor.) In each of the five boroughs 
a president is elected by the voters of the entire borough. 
The salary in the borough of Queens and Richmond is 
$5000 per year, and S7500 in each of the remaining three 
boroughs. These borough presidents, the sixty-seven alder- 
men, and the president of the board constitute the board 
of aldermen. The term of an alderman is two years, and 
the salary is S2000 per year. The board appoints a clerk, 
who is also city clerk, for a term of six years at a salary of 
$7000 per year. A majority of the board of aldermen 
constitutes a quorum to do business. The board holds at 
least one meeting per month. Its place of meeting is in 
the borough of Manhattan. 

All questions involving the expenditure of large sums of pub- 
lic money or making specific public improvements require 
a unanimous vote of the board, while a majority is sufficient to 
settle other matters. Upon any question named in the city 
charter the board may pass ordinances. Some of these ques- 
tions are the establishment and regulation of public markets, 
parks, streets, boulevards, bridges, docks, waterworks, school- 
houses, and other public buildings of the city ; the inspection 
and sealing of weights and measures ; the inspection, weigh- 
ing, and measuring of coal, wood, hay, etc. ; the numbering 



GREATER NEW YORK 65 

of houses and lots; regulating public cries, advertising 
noises, steam whistles, etc. ; regulating the use o\ guns, 
pistols, fireworks, etc*. ; regulating places of public amuse- 
ment, the construction and use of hydrants, cisterns, 
sewers, pumps, etc. ; regulating partition walls and fences; 
licensing truckmen, hackmen, expressmen, pawnbrokers, 
and others; the suppression of vice and immorality and 
the prohibition of gambling houses. The board may 
change ward boundaries, and it may, on recommendation 
oi the board of estimate and apportionment, tix generally 
the salary or compensation of any officer or person paid 
out of the city treasury, except day laborers, teachers, 
miners, and members of the supervising staff of the 
department o\ education. It may reduce salaries rec- 
ommended by the board of estimate and apportionment, 
ject, however, to the veto power of the mayor. The 
board may, within the limits fixed by state law, authorize 
the city to issue its bonds for needed public improve- 
ments. 

New York's Executive. The chief executive officer of 
Xew York, as in other cities, is the mayor. He is chosen 
by the voters of the entire city for a term of four years, 
and receives a salary of £15,000. Like the aldermen, he is 
chosen in the odd-numbered years, in order to separate city 
affair- from federal and state politic-. The mayor may 
be removed from office by the governor, and he himself may 
remove any city official holding office by his appointment, 
unless such removal is otherwise provided for by the state 
constitution. The mayor ha- the legislative power to 
recommend measures to the board of aldermen, and has 
veto power over it- acts. To pa-- an ordinance over the 
mayor's veto require- a two-third- vote of the board of 

aldermen within fifteen days after receiving notiee of the 



66 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

veto, and action must be deferred until after ten days have 
passed. If the ordinance has to do with the expenditure 
of public money, the creation of debt, or the laying of an 
assessment, then a three-fourths vote is necessary to pass 
the measure over the mayor's veto. In matters of granting 
a franchise the mayor's veto is absolute. The other execu- 
tive officers of the city are the heads of the different depart- 
ments of finance, law, police, water supply, street cleaning, 
parks, bridges, gas and electricity, charities, docks and 
ferries, fire, correction, education, tenement house, health, 
and taxes and assessments. With the exception of the 
heads of the departments of education and finance, these 
officers are appointed by the mayor. 

Executive Departments. The department of finance is 
headed by the comptroller, who is elected by the vol 
of the entire city at the general city election. He is chosen 
for a term of four years, and receives a salary of 815,000 
per year. The comptroller's duties are similar to those of 
the chamberlain in other cities. He has charge of the 
financial affairs of the city — collects the taxes, rents, 
interests, and other moneys due the city, audits city 
accounts, collects arrearages, receives and pays out all 
moneys due the city. For the administration of these 
duties his department is divided into bureaus. The comp- 
troller also causes investigations to be made of the expen- 
ditures of city funds in the different departments, and causes 
statistics to be prepared through a bureau charged with 
these duties. The mayor appoints the city chamberlain 
at a salary of $12,000 per year, and this official also acts 
as treasurer of New York County. 

The board of estimate and apportionment is made up of 
the mayor, comptroller, president of the board of aldermen, 
and the five borough presidents. It has the responsibility 



GREATER NEW YORK 67 

of making up the city budget, 1 or statement based upon 
estimates for the expenses of the city for one year. Before 
the budget can become law, it must be passed by the board 
of aldermen the same as any other ordinance, and is sub- 
ject to the same action on the part of the mayor. The 
board of estimate and apportionment has authority by a 
three-fourths vote to grant franchises to private corpora- 
tions to use the streets, parks, wharves, or other public 
property of the city, subject to the mayor's veto. Upon 
all questions before this board the mayor, the president of 
the board of aldermen, and the comptroller each have 
three votes, the presidents of the boroughs of Brooklyn 
and Manhattan two votes each, and the remaining borough 
presidents one vote each. Thus it will be seen that out 
oi the sixteen votes of the board the mayor, the president 
of the board of aldermen, and the comptroller cast nine, 
and therefore control the board. 

The corporation counsel is the head of the law department. 
He is appointed by the mayor at a salary of $15,000 per 
year. He is the legal adviser of all city officials, and has 
charge of all questions of law involving the city's business 
in all of its various departments. 

New York has a large number of policemen, whose chief 
duty is to prevent as well as to aid in the punishment 
of crime. The police commissioner is the head of this de- 
partment, and he also is chief of police. He is appointed 
by the mayor for five years at a salary of $7500, and 
may be removed from office only by the mayor or the 
governor of the state. He is charged with the responsi- 
bility of maintaining the peace and security of the city. 

He appoint- five deputies, a chief inspector, sixteen assist- 
ant inspectors, and thousands Of policemen. 

1 The budget for 1914 amounted to nearly $193,000,000. 



68 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The general administration of affairs in each of the five 
boroughs is looked after by the borough president, who 
is elected by the voters of the entire borough for a term of 
four years. His salary in the boroughs of Brooklyn und Man- 
hattan is $7500 per year, and in the other three boroughs it 
is $5000 per year. He has charge, within his borough, oi 
the construction and laying out of new streets and new sur- 
face railroads, of the fencing and filling in of vacant lots, 
the removal of encumbrances, the construction of bridj 
sewers, tunnels, and public buildings, except school build- 
ings, almshouses, lire and police stations, and penitentiaries. 

Hie mayor appoints forty-six member.- of the board of 
education. This board has full authority in matter- of 
education. It appoints a superintendent of school-, eight 
associates, twenty-six district superintendent-, and has 
charge of all school property, with full powers and duties 
as in other cities. 

County Government within the City. When a city 
includes a town, 1 town government ceases. This is not 
the case when a city includes one or more counties. In 
such cases there is a separate county government inde- 
pendent of the city government. Since town governments 
within a city cease, there can be no board of supervise 
and therefore no county legislature. The work of the 
board of supervisors is consequently performed by the 
city government. But each city county elects its own 
sheriff, clerk, district attorney, judge, and other county 
officers. These officers are chosen as in other counties, 
with the same duties (see Chapter VII). 

New York's Judicial System. Corresponding to the 
justice court in a town we have two courts in Greater 
New York — the municipal court of the city of Xew 

1 The city of Rome and the town of Rome have the same boundaries. 



GREATER NEW YORK 69 

York and the city magistrates court. The municipal court 
tries civil cases at law involving property where the amounts 
do not exceed S500. To facilitate the work of this court 
the city is divided into twenty-four districts, as follows: 
Brooklyn, seven; Manhattan, nine; Bronx, two; Rich- 
mond, two ; and Queens, four. In each district in one 
or more parts this court holds sessions. Each court thus 
held is presided over 1)}' a justice elected for a term of 
ten years by the voters of his district at a salary of $Sooo 
per year, except in Queens and Richmond, in which it is 
$7000. 

The city magistrates court tries petty criminal cases. 
To facilitate the work of this court the city is divided 
into thirteen districts. The mayor appoints a chief mag- 
istrate, whose salary is $10,000 per year, and nineteen 
assistant magistrates for a term of ten years at a salary 
of S7000 per year. The magistrates meet and pass reg- 
ulations ; the chief magistrate determines the number 
of courts to be held, the hours for holding the courts, 
etc., for the division. Single magistrates may hold court. 
Special night courts, and courts for the trial of cases 
arising under the laws governing the relation of husband 
and wife, parent and child, etc., are also held. These 
courts are parts of the state system of courts, and try 
offenders against the laws of the state as well as violators 
of city ordinances. 

Corresponding to what is called the police court in 
other cities of the state is the court of special sessions, con- 
sisting of a chief justice, whose salary is $10,000 per 
year, and ten associate justices appointed by the mayor 
for a term of ten year- at a salary of $9000 per year. 
This court tries of misdemeanors committed in 

the city when the matter has not been considered by 



70 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the grand jury. The chief justice designates the divisions 
of the court. Three justices sitting together constitute 
one of these divisions, and two of them must concur in 
a decision. In each county one justice holds a children s 
court. 

The city and the general sessions courts take the place 
of the regular county court in New York County. There 
are ten judges of the city court, elected for a term of ten 
years, and seven in the court of general sessions, elected for 
a term of fourteen years by the voters of the county. The 
salary of the former judges is Si 2,000 per year, and of the 
latter $17,500. The city court has jurisdiction over civil 
suits where the amount in question docs not exceed S2000. 
Either party to a suit may appeal to the appellate division 
of the state supreme court. The court of general sessions 
has jurisdiction in all cases of crime committed within 
the county of New York against the laws of the state, 
including the crime of murder. Cases are brought before 
this court upon indictment presented by the grand jury. 
Both courts are courts of record. In Kings, Richmond, 
and Queens counties there is a regular county court and 
a surrogate s court, with powers and duties similar to those 
of such courts in the other counties of the state (see Chap- 
ter XII, p. 130). These judges are elected by the voters 
of their respective counties. There are two county judges 
in Kings County, and two surrogates in New York Count}-. 
The first and second judicial departments of the state 
are included within the boundaries of Greater Xew York. 
The first department and the first judicial district of 
the supreme court of the state are included within the 
boundaries of New York County ; the second department 
and the second judicial district are included in the coun- 
ties of Kings, Queens, and Richmond. This court and 









GREATER NEW YORK 71 

its appellate division has the same jurisdiction over the city 

iocs the supreme court over eases arising in other parts 

oi the state (see Chapter XII, p. [31). New York's system 

courts includes also two inferior courts, with jurisdiction 
extending over the entire city, authorized to try eases without 

the aid of a jury. These are made up of the municipal 
eourt and the court of special sessions. They are not courts 
of record. Is the right of trial by jury violated by these 
courts ? (Art. 1, ^ 2, p. i.) 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. What became of the municipal corporations which for- 
merly existed in the territory now known as the Greater City 
of New York ? 

2. What officers are elected by the voters of the entire city of 
New York at the same time that the mayor is chosen ? Mention 
the chief duties of each. 

3. Why is it well to choose city officials at times other than 
the dates of federal and state elections ? 

4. What advantage is there in having the elective city officials 
chosen for double the length of term of aldermen ? 

5. In case of neglect of duty, by whom may the mayor he 
remo. 

6. In what manner does the state legislature exercise control 
the affairs of the city of New York ? 

7. ( )ver what actions of the board of aldermen does the mayor 
have absolute veto? Over what actions docs the m;i 

the absolute veto except when the board n the measure 

with a two-thirds vote? a three-fourths v< 

8. What three officers actually control the board of estimate 
and apportionment? How are these offi a? What 

their length of term and the annual salary ? 



72 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

9. What are the duties of the borough presidents? How are 
they chosen ? Of what important boards are they member 

10. Mention the principal executive departments. How are 
the heads of these administrative departments chosen? I low 
may they be removed ? 

11. How may a private corporation obtain permission to use the 
streets for the laying of gas mains or for oilier public utilities ? Is 
this method the same in New York as in other cities of the state? 

12. I low is the city budget made up ? I distinguish between the 
budget and the total tax to be raised by property assessment. 

13. What is the lowest court in New York City that tries civil 

suits at law and petty criminal ca» 

14. What court would have jurisdiction in a murder trial in 
New York City? What court would have jurisdiction in a civil 
suit where the sum involved did not exceed sjooo? 

15. What courts in other part ! State would have jurisdic- 
tion of the cases mentioned in question N< >. 14? 1 See ( Chapter XII.) 

16. Cases from the courts mentioned in question No. 1 1 might 
be appealed to what courts ? 

17. I low arc the judges of the various citv courts chosen? 

18. Who is responsible for the protection of the city of 
York ? In what way are the duties of policemen twofold ? 

19. Why does New York City have separate children's courts 5 
separate night courts ? 

20. How docs county government in city counties differ from 
that in other counties ? 

21. Give five subjects in which the board of aldermen may 
pass ordinances. 

22. What is the meaning of the term "home rule for citu 

23. Should the size of a city exempt it from state supervision? 



GREATER NEW YORK 



75 



SUMMARY RELATING TO THE OFFICERS OF GREATER 

NEW YORK 



Officers 





Comptroller 

Borough presidents . . . . 

Secretary to the mayor . 

. 
the mayor 

Commissioner of police . 

Chamberlain 

Corporation counsel . . . 

Com. docks and ferries . . 

Com. public mark 

Com. public charities . . . 

Com. licenses 

Com. tenement house 
department 

Fire commissioner 

Com. water suppl 

and electricity 

Com. weights and meas- 
ures 

Com. plant and structures 

Com. parks. Manhattan 
and Richmond 

Com. parks. Brooklyn . . 

Com. parks. Bronx .... 

Com. parks. Queens . . . 

Supervisor city record . . 

Pres. municipal civil serv- 
ice commission 

Civil service commission- 
ers (2) 

Com. correction 

Pres. board of taxes and 

assessments 

taxes and assess- 
ments (6) 

Member b'd of assessors 
of education * 7* . 

Chief medical examiner . 

Health commissioner . . 

Street-cleaning com. . . . 

Two members board of 
assessors 

Judges court gen. ses. . . 

Judges city court 

Judges municipal court 

Judges court sp. ses. . . . 

City magistrates 

Aldermen 

Citv clerk 



How C 



Elected by people . . 
Elected by people . . 

El. by people ot bor. 
Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by mayor 
• in ted by mayor 

Appointed by mayor 
Elected by people . . 

ted by people . . 
Elected by people . . 
Appointed by mayor 
Appointed by n 

•rd by people . . 

Appointed by I 

of aldermen .... 



of Office 



4 years 

4 years 

4 years 

Pleasure ot mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 
Pleasure of mayor 

Pleasure of mayor 


ra 

10 years 

10 years 

10 years 

2 yean 

6 years 



Salary 



$15,000 
15,000 
5,000 to ; 

.- 

4,800 
7,500 

12,000 
15,000 

7.500 

7,500 

7.500 

7.500 

7.500 
7,500 

7,500 

5,000 



5,000 
5,000 



6,000 



8,000 

7,000 
5,000 
Unpaid 

7,500 
7,500 
7.500 

5,000 



17.500 
12,000 
8,000 
9,000 
7,000 
2,000 



74 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 

Resolved : That it is for the best interests of the public that 
public utilities — including sewer, drainage, and water systems. 
street railways, and electric-light and gas plants — be owned and 
operated by the public served; or Resolved: That the above and 
like public utilities will be better managed, and the public better 
served, under private ownership or control. 

Resolved : That the business affairs of all cities and incorpo- 
rated villages be administered by five independent commissioners 

(safety-police and fire, justice, finance, health, and public works) 
directly responsible to the people. 

Resolved: That in all cities and incorporated villages there shall 
be established juvenile courts, in which children under sixteen 
years of age shall have a hearing, said courts not to be courts 
of record (see p. 134J. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE COUNTY 

General Statement. The state is divided into sixty- 
two l governmental units, called counties, for the adminis- 
tration of state law pertaining to the people residing within 
each county respectively. County government, unlike 
city government, is the same in all counties not identical 
in boundaries with the boundaries of a city. In the admin- 
istration of law the county government bears an important 
part, a sendee that is quite distinct from that performed by 
any other department of our state or local government. 
Many cases of law are carried from justice (town) and city 
courts to the county court. The recording of deeds and 
mortgages and the probating of wills are services performed 
by county officials. Moreover, the principal roads and 
bridges outside of large cities are under county control, and 
the county is also responsible for the preservation of order. 
The county idea, like that of the town, was brought to this 
country by our forefathers. It first appeared in Virginia 
and was widely adopted in the Southern colonies. 

City Counties. City counties are those whose bound- 
aries are identical with the boundaries of cities as set forth 
in city charters. The Greater City of New York contains 
five counties — New York, Kings, Queens, The Bronx, 
and Richmond. In such cases, city and county govern- 
ments coincide in part. For example, there is no county 

1 See p. 678, New York Red Book, 1915 edition. The Bronx was the 
sixty- second county. 

75 



76 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

legislature, since there are no towns, but the people elect a 
sheriff, county clerk, and district attorney as in other 
counties. These officials have to do with the administra- 
tion of justice, thereby reducing the county thus situated 
to a judicial division of the state, as in Greater New York. 

County Government. Otherwise than above stated, 
we find the county government, like the federal and state 
governments, divided into legislative, executive, and judi- 
cial branches, which we will now consider separately. 

County Legislature. The county legislature is the 
board of supervisors. This board is made up of the 
supervisors, one from each town elected at the biennial 
town meeting, and one from each ward in those cities 
whose boundaries are less than those of a county. These 
supervisors represent their towns or wards in the county 
board of supervisors, or Legislature, just as assemblymen 
represent their districts in the state Legislature. At the 
annual meeting the board chooses one of its number as 
chairman and appoints a clerk who is not a member of the 
board. The board of supervisors is therefore made up of 
representatives from smaller political units, and the govern- 
ment of the county is represent a tive. The chairman of the 
board appoints standing committees to facilitate busin. 
much as the Speaker in the House of Representatives does, 
or the speaker in the state legislature. 

Board of Supervisors: its Duties. The constitution 
of the state provides that the legislature may increase the 
powers of local legislation of the board of supervisors 
as it deems expedient (Art. Ill, sect. 27). The present 
powers of the board of supervisors may be briefly sum- 
marized as follows: (1) caring for county property — 
courthouses, jails, poorhouse and farm, etc. ; (2) deter- 
mining the county budget and levying a tax to meet the 



THE COUNTY 77 

same, including the county's share of the state tax and any 
expenditures for town work; (3) auditing all bills and 
accounts against the county; (4) making appropriations 
of money for various county purposes and as above men- 
tioned; (5) fixing salaries o\ county officers ; (6) borrowing 
money on the credit of the county not to exceed the limit 
set by law ; 1 j) dividing the county into school-supervisory 
districts and assembly districts; (8) making contracts for 
and in the name of the county for the care of the count} 
poor. etc. ; (9) making regulations relative to weeds, fish, 
game, and animals; (10) preparing yearly a list oi three 
hundred men to serve as grand jurors for a term of one 
year ; (n) appointing a county superintendent of highways 
and removing him for failing to do his duty; and (12) 
canvassing the votes in the county after each general elec- 
tion and announcing officially the results of the election. 
In this capacity the board is known as the " county board 
of canvassers." Members of the board of supervisors serve 
f^r a term of two years and receive four dollars per day 
for actual service as county officers. 

County Executive: Removals. The executive depart- 
ment of the count)" i> represented by the sheriff, clerk, 
trea-urer. attorney, superintendent of the poor, superin- 
tendent md superintendent- of schools one 

or mor< ted by the district board of school dire* tors. 

Kcept district superintendents of schools 
may be removed by the governor for cause. 
Sheriff. The sheriff is the chief executive officer of the 
inty. It is In*- duty to preserve the peace of the county 
by the prevention of (rime and by the arrest of criminals. 
He has charge of the county jail and the prisoners lod 

: court order-. To suppress riot be may 

call out all the able-bodied men of the county. This body 



78 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

is called the posse comitatus. If he is then unable to 
restore order, he may ask the governor for aid. He is 
responsible for the enforcement of state law within the 
county and of local regulations passed by the board of super- 
visors. He assists the county clerk in the selection of 
jurors, attends the courts of record held in the county, 
preserves order, conducts public sales of property ordered 
by the courts to be sold for the payment of debts in execu- 
tion of judgments. For the carrying out of these duties 
he may appoint an undersheriff and a number of deputy 
sheriffs. The sheriff is elected at the general election for 
a term of three years by direct vote of the whole county. 
Because of his great power the state constitution forbids 
his succeeding himself in office. In some counties he is 
paid a salary, in others lie is paid partly by fees, and in 
still others wholly by fees. The tendency, however, is to 
pay a salary, and the fees collected are turned over to the 
county treasurer. The executive head of the count}' gov- 
ernment differs from the federal and the state executive 
in that he has no veto power over the county legislature, 
as the other two have over the federal and state legis- 
latures. 

County Clerk. The county clerk is the custodian of 
the county records. He records deeds, mortgages, wills, 
and other documents affecting the title to real estate, 
and files judgments of the courts and other papers subject 
to public reference. In some counties, however, there is 
a separate officer, called a " registrar,' ' for recording deeds 
and mortgages. The county clerk is clerk of the county 
court and of the supreme court when it holds a term in his 
county ; he draws from the proper lists the grand and petit 
(trial) jurors, when this duty is not performed by a special 
officer called " commissioner of jurors." He is elected for 






THE COUNTY 79 

a term of three years and is paid by fees in some counties 
and in others by a salary. If paid a salary, the tees are 
turned over to the count}' treasurer. The tendency is 
toward a definite salary. 

County Treasurer. The county treasurer receives all 
moneys collected in the towns and wards of the county 
for state and county, and pays out the county's money as 
directed by the board of supervisors. He also receives the 
state school money belonging to the county and pays over 
the amount belonging to each town to the supervisor, 
and to the chamberlain of the city or to the treasurer of 
the board of education the amount belonging to each city. 
Money paid into court is received by him and paid out as 
the court orders. He issues liquor licenses upon the pay- 
ment of fees fixed by state law, and collects the inherit- 
ance tax. He is elected for a term of three years, and is 
sometimes paid a certain percentage of the moneys which 
be receives ; generally, however, he receives a salary. 

District Attorney. The district attorney is primarily a 
state officer in that he is the state's attorney in criminal 
cases. He brings criminal offenses to the attention of the 
grand jury and prosecutes those accused of crime in the 
county or supreme court. He acts as the legal adviser of 
the board of supervisors, in which capacity he is a county 
officer. He is elected for three years and i> paid a salary 
fixed by tlie board of supervisors. 

Superintendent of the Poor. It is the duty d\ the 
superintendent of the poor to look after the poor of the 
county. He manages the poorhouse and farm and aids 
the destitute. He expends the funds voted by tin- board 
supervisors for the care of the poor, and report- concern- 
ing such expenditures to said board. He makes an annual 
report to the state board of charities and furnishes the 



80 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

board of supervisors with a statement of the charges against 
the different towns for the maintenance of their poor while 
county charges. He may be appointed by the board of 
supervisors, but is usually elected at the general election 
for a term of three years at a salary fixed by the board. 

Superintendent of Highways. The superintendent of 
highways is appointed by the board of supervisors for 
a term of four years. His salary is fixed by the board of 
supervisors. For neglect of duty the board of super- 
visors may remove him from office, or he may be 
removed by the state commissioners of highways. The 
county superintendent of highways has general charge of 
the building and repairing of highways and bridges, ap- 
proves plans for a new work, approves gravel deposits 
and stone used in road construction, inspects roads and 
bridges, causes grades to be established for drain,; 
reports to the slate commission annually, etc, 

District Superintendent of Schools. In each town 
two school directors are chosen, whose duty it is to elect 
a district superintendent of schools for a term of five years. 
He is paid a salary of $1500 by the state and allowed $300 
for expenses. The supervisors of the towns forming a 
district may vote to increase this salary, in which case the 
sum voted is added to the taxes of the towns composing 
the district. The district superintendent is essentially a 
state officer, and may be removed by the commissioner of 
education for failure to do his duty (see p. 24). 

Judicial Branch. The judicial business of the county 
(except New York l County) is intrusted to the county 
judge. In counties having a population of over 40,000 
a surrogate is also chosen. Both officers are elected 
for a term of six years by the voters of the county. 
1 See chapter on Greater New York. 



THE COUNTY 8i 

They are paid a salary which varies in different counties. 
All ordinary offenses against persons and property (save 
murder) may be tried in a county court. For their further 
duties, see the chapter on the state judiciary. Vacancies 
in either court may be Tilled by the governor's making an 
appointment, which appointment must be approved by 
the senate if in session. 

Coroners. Each county, as a rule, elects four coroners, 
that is, officers whose duty it is to investigate the causes 
oi sudden and suspicious deaths. If requested, a coroner 
must investigate the cause oi any lire which seems to 
be of an incendiary origin. To make his work effective, 
the coroner may summon to appear before him as a witness 
any person whom he thinks may have knowledge of the 
matter. The witness in a coroner's court is put under oath 
and examined as in any court. A coroner's investigation is 
sometimes referred to as an inquest. Usually the coroner 
is a physician. Should you think this an advantage? 

County Government in Action. How may this machin- 
ery be set in motion? Suppose we take a case at law. 
A person burns a barn (commits arson). He has viol at eel 
a >tate law. The man whose barn is burned swears out 
a warrant before a justice of the peace. The warrant 
IS an order issued by the justice directing the sheriff or 
a con-table to arrest the man named in the warrant 
committing the offense, and to bring him before his 
court. If the evidence submitted to the justice LS not 

Sufficient, he will dismiss the case; if it i-. he will hold 

the prisoner until the next meeting of the grand jury. He 
may either send the prisoner to jail or fix bail. Bail is a 
>um of money to be paid by those who sign the bail papers 
in case the prisoner fail- to appear when wanted in court. 
In the meantime the district attorney carefully look- into 



82 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



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THE COUNTY 83 

the case, inquires of all persons whom he thinks may know 
something about the matter. These he summons before 

the grand jury as witnesses. If the jury thinks the ev ; - 
dence thus submitted is sufficient, it will order the case to 
trial ; that is, it will find an "indictment." The case is then 
tried by the county judge, the district attorney represent- 
ing the interests of the people, the accused having an 
attorney to see that he has a fair and impartial trial. A 
different jury, called a petit, or trial, jury, of twelve men 
hears the ease, that is, hears what is said by witnesses on 
both side-. The judge tells the jury what are the points of 
law bearing upon the case, and the jury decides whether the 
prisoner i> guilty according to the evidence. If they think 
he is not guilty, they so report to the court, and the prisoner 
i- dismissed. If they think he is guilty, the court then 
pronounces sentence, that is, tells the prisoner how long 
a term he must spend in prison, in the case of a crime like 
arson, or what fine he has to pay, if the case is a civil 
(property one. 

No matter whether we have a deed to record, a will to 
prove, or a judgment of the court to execute, there is 
prescribed way that each and all must be done. This i- a 
country of law, and since our laws have been made by our- 
selves through our representatives for our own good, all 
should respect and obey them. For further discussion of 
law. see Chapter XII. Judicial Department, and Chapter 
XXIV. Federal Courts. 

The County: its Importance. Hie importance of the 
count}' as a unit of local government i- sometimes under- 
rated. It i- the county -urroL r ate who settles the details of 

. including the probate of wills; the county clerk 

records deeds, lien-, and mortgages upon real estate; the 

county judge trie-- important civil and criminal cases where 



84 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the laws of the state have been violated within the county ; 
the sheriff arrests violators of the state law and has charge 
of prisoners, suppresses riot, and keeps order within the 
county ; the district' attorney prosecutes violators of the 
law; the poor master has charge of the county's poor; 
counties may establish tuberculosis hospitals for the 
care of the sick and county farm-school- for the care of 
children whose conduct and surroundings arc such as to 
make it best for society to place them in such an institution ; 
the county superintendent of highways care- for the roads, 
and the county property is under the care oi the board of 
supervisors. County officers in many instances perform 
the double function of both count)' and state officers, and 
may be removed by the governor for failure to perform their 
duty. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. What officer is charged with preserving the peace and 

order of the county? 

2. Show how the government of a city county differs from 

that of an ordinary county. What are city count u 

3. Into how many counties is the state divided? What is 
the purpose of this division? 

4. Is the political division known as county original in this 
country? Explain. 

5. In what respects is county government similar to federal and 
state government? Define "indictment/' "bail," il warrant/' 

6. Mention the officers who constitute each branch oi the 
county government, giving two duties of each official. 

7. How is the county tax rate determined ? 

8. In what respects does the county executive differ from 
the state executive? In what respects is it similar? 









THE COUNTY 85 

9. Who has the power to remove county officials who fail 
to perform their duties? What are the duties of the coroner? 
of the surrogate? 

10. What are the duties of the district superintendent of 
schools? How is he chosen? Who has the power to remove 
him from office? 

11. How is the county superintendent of highways ap- 
pointed? Who has the power of removing him from office 
and filling vacancies? To what officer should you report a 
mysterious death ? 

12. Name the duties of the county board of canvassers. 

13. What steps would be necessary and what officer would 
perform the recording of a deed or mortgage? 

14. State the difference between the duties of grand and 
petit jurors. Give the number in each. Why is the "grand" 
jury so called? 

15. What county officer is denied by the state constitution 
the privilege of succeeding himself? 

16. When is the district attorney a state officer? When is 
he a county officer? 

17. What is meant by the judge's charge to the jury ? by 
id ? 



PART II. GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 
CHAPTER VIII 

THE CONSTITUTION IN DEVELOPMENT 

Our Birthright. The boys and girls of the Empire 
State may justly be proud of their birthright In all the 
country's history New York Stale has borne an important 
part. In the War for Independence it fell to the lot of this 
state to have the pivotal battle fought upon its soil. Creasy 
says that the battle of Saratoga was one of the fifteen 
battles that have changed the destiny of the world. In 
this war New York State furnished 43,645 ] men. standing 
second only to Massachusetts in the number furnished ; 
and during the Civil War it sent, for the defense of the 
Union, 448,850 men, a far larger number than was furnished 
by any other state — an immense army in itself. At 
Gettysburg, the pivotal battle of the Civil War, " more 
than one fourth of the Union army marched there under 
the flag of the state of New York ; more than one fourth 
of those who fell there followed those colors to their 
graves " 2 — a record which removes from the field of 
debate the claims that in the hearts of the people of the 
state patriotism, love of country, and an unselfish desire to 
serve it even unto death are the duty of the citizen and the 
mainspring of all good government. Not only historically, 

1 Roberts, J. A., New York in the Revolution, pp. 7-15. 

2 New York at Gettysburg, Vol. I, p. 7. Albany, 1902. 

86 




M.\: sowing above) ras Fifty-one State 

itorial Districts and (below) the Number oi Assembly- 

. (150) to which Each County is entitled 

87 



88 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

however, is New York State great. Its vast wealth, great 
natural resources, diversified industries, and dense popula- 
tion (9,773,817 in 191 5) make it unquestionably the most 
important state in the Union. In point of population it 
outranks The Netherlands, European Turkey. Portugal, 
Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark. Canada, and a 
majority of the South American republics. In 19 13 it 
expended upon public education the enormous sum of 
$63,185,124.10. New York City is the financial, com- 
mercial, literary, and art center, and is the Largest city, 
not only of the western hemisphere, but of the world as 
well. 

Before the White Man Came. When, in 1524, Ver- 
razano explored what is now known as New York Bay, he 
found the islands of the bay and the shores of the mainland 
occupied by the Algonquin Indians. In [609, when Henry 
Hudson sailed up the river which now bears his name, he 
found its shores also possessed by the Algonquins. The 
rest of the territory now known as New York State was 
possessed by the tribes of the Iroquois League, or Five 
Nations. These powerful Indian tribes, banded together 
in two organizations, figure largely in the history of the 
state. Of the two, the Iroquois are of more importance 
than the Algonquins. The Iroquois, or Five Nations, in- 
cluded the Mohawks. Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and 
Senecas, and were located about the waters which now 
bear their names. From this region, fertile in soil, abound- 
ing in game, with facilities for rapid transportation by 
means of natural waterways, they were enabled, with only 
comparatively short carries, to send their war parties down 
the Ohio to the Mississippi, down the Susquehanna and 
Delaware rivers to the bays, into the Great Lakes, through 
the Mohawk River into the Hudson to lakes George and 



THE CONSTITUTION IN DEVELOPMENT 89 

Champlain, — in short, this powerful League, some 17.000 

strong, was able to sweep the country with its war parties 
north and south, east of the Mississippi. Thus New York 
State was the empire part of the New World long before 
white men visited its shores. 

New York a Dutch Colony. Henry Hudson, an Eng- 
lish navigator, had been employed by the Dutch East 
India Company to find a short route to the rich trading 
fields oi Asia. In the spring of 1609, Hudson, with a small 
crew, in the ship called the Half Moon, sailed north of 
Norway and Sweden, but was soon stopped by the ice. 
Turning westward, he finally reached the coast of Maine 
and continued south as far as Chesapeake Bay ; then, 
returning northward, he entered New York Bay and sailed 
up the Hudson River, hoping that he had found the desired 
passage to Asia. Finding himself unable to proceed more 
than a short distance above the present site of Albany, 
however, he returned, disappointed in his main quest, and 
sailed for home to report to his employers. Encouraged by 
Hudson's report, a company of Dutch merchants planned 
several trading expeditions. In 1614 the New Netherlands 
Company was formed 1 and was granted a charter which 
gave it commercial control of that region of country lying 
k ' between New France and Virginia. " The New Nether- 
lands Company grew into the Dutch West India Company. 
Dutch West India Company. This company, besides 
lusive trading rights, was given power to plant and 
govern colonies. Through their agent, known as director- 
general, the company exercised almost absolute control 
r the affairs of the -ettler>. When Peter Minuit came 
r a- governor in 1626, a council of live was created 
to advise with and assist him. Governor kiVft. however, 

1 Wilson, .1 History of the American People, Vol. T, p. 73. 



go ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

with the knowledge that he alone was held responsible for 
the government of the province, reduced the number of 
the council to two, one other person and himself ; and as 
he had two votes to the other member's one, he was prac- 
tically an autocrat. The other officers of importance 
were the koopman, or commissary and secretary, and the 
schout, or sheriff and customs collector. The government 
was scarcely established, however, before the people began 
to demand a share in its operations. Kieft was forced to 
make some concessions, and promised greater privileges, 
but this promise was not fulfilled until the arrival of Stuy- 
vesant. In 1647 Stuyvesant yielded to the demand for 
popular representation in so far as to order an election by 
the people of eighteen of their own number, from whom 
he was to choose nine as advisers. Since, however, tin's 
body met only when called upon, it was but a very slight 
beginning toward constitutional government. The gov- 
ernment of the colony under all of its six directors-general, 
or governors, was rude and harsh, in spite of the fact that 
the settlers, coming largely from Holland, itself a republic, 
had liberal notions of political and religious liberty. These 
notions found expression in concessions wrung from the 
governors, in the establishment of churches, and in the 
maintenance of schools. As early as 1633 New Amsterdam 
had a school-teacher, 1 and in 1638 a school tax was levied. 
New York an English Colony. England based her 
claim to New Netherlands mainly upon the explorations of 
the Cabots. In 1664 Charles II of England conveyed to 
his brother James, the Duke of York, a tract of land which 
included New Netherlands. The same year an English 
fleet entered New York Bay, and Dutch rule in the colony 

1 Adam Roelandson, the first school-teacher, came to New Netherlands 
in 1633. See Dexter, History of Education in United States, p. 12. 






THE CONSTITUTION IN DEVELOPMENT 91 

was practically at an end. From 1664 to 1676 New Nether- 
lands, now named New York in honor of James, Duke of 
York, remained an English province, except for the brief 
period of about fifteen months (1673-1674), when it was 
again under Dutch rule, but was conveyed back to Eng- 
land by treaty at the close of the war with Holland. 
Though the temporary change of masters in 1664, which 
was made permanent by treaty in 1674, made the govern- 
ment of the province no less autocratic in form, it brought 
about a very real change in practice. " The despotism of 
Kieft and Stuyvesant was continued, only now, instead 
of the iron clutch, it was the stroke of velvet/ ' When the 
government was formally organized, in 1674, Edmund 
Andros came out as governor and was assisted by a council 
of ten. The latter body was not chosen by the colonists, 
but the appeal for popular representation was too strong 
to be resisted, and in 1683 Governor Dongan, who had 
just succeeded Andros, called together the first popular 
assembly in the colony under English rule. 

The Charter of Liberties. This body, made up of the 
governor, his council of ten, and eighteen delegates rep- 
resenting the people, met in October, 1683, and adopted, 
among other important legislative measures, a " charter o\ 
liberties," which was confirmed by the Duke of York. 
This charter made many important concessions, providing, 
among other things, for the meeting of a popular assembly, 
and granting to the representatives of the people the right 
to lay their own taxes. This liberality soon suffered a 
(heck, however, and in 16S7. 1 after the accession of the 
Duke of York to the throne as James IE the assembly 
was dissolved, not to be reestablished until after the ac- 
tion of William and Mar}-. In [691 Governor Sloughter 

1 Roberts, E. H.. VoL I. p. 



92 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

was sent out to take charge of the government of the 
colony. The assembly was reestablished and promptly 
passed acts declaring the rights and privileges of the people 
and reaffirming the charter of liberties. These acts marked 
the beginning of a struggle between the assembly and the 
colonial governors that ended only with the outbreak of 
the Revolution. On the opening of hostilities New York 
promptly joined the patriot cause, and on July 9, 1776, the 
provincial congress formally took the name of Representa- 
tives of the State of New York. 

Our Four Constitutions. New York State has had four 
constitutions. It had existed as a state for nearly a 
year (from July, 1776, to April, 1777) before its first con- 
stitution was adopted by the state assembly. This first 
constitution (the first draft of which is now in the custody 
of the commissioner of education at Albany), like most 
of the early state constitutions, was modeled somewhat 
closely upon that of England. The government consisted 
of a chief executive, of a legislature made up of two cham- 
bers, and of a system of courts. The constitution declared 
the people to be the only source of political power, and 
provided for a secret ballot and for complete religious 
liberty. In 1821 this constitution was thoroughly revised 
and new provisions were made for new conditions. In 
1846 it was again revised and somewhat radical changes 
were made. Among other things it was provided that 
many officers heretofore chosen by the legislature or 
appointed by the governor should be elected by the people. 
In 1866 a convention was called to revise the constitution 
of 1846, but the people rejected the work of the conven- 
tion, with the exception of the judiciary article. 1 The 
constitution of 1846 remained thus almost unchanged 

1 Roberts, E. H., Vol. II, p. 569. 



THE CONSTITUTION IN DEVELOPMENT 93 

until 1894, when a new revision, our present constitution, 
was made (see Appendix). In all these constitutions the 
main provisions have been substantially the same. The 
tendency, however, has been for the people to retain more 
power, delegating less and less to the governor and the 
legislature. 

Fundamental Law. The constitution of the state 1 is 
its fundamental law, which of course cannot in any way 
conflict with the constitution, treaties, or laws of the 
United States (p. 1). Like the federal constitution, the 
state constitution guarantees personal liberty, personal 
security, personal property. It also determines the right 
o\ suffrage and the time and manner of voting; it creates 
legislative bodies and defines their duties and limitations; 
it creates executive and judicial offices, defines their duties, 
and limits their action ; it safeguards state and local credit, 
cares for public property and institutions, provides for 
free schools, divides the state into various districts for 
administrative purposes, and provides for its own amend- 
ment. The constitution is established by the people of 
the state as a chart to guide them in the administration 
of matter- pertaining to the general welfare of the people 
of the state. It is drafted by representatives chosen by 
the people at the ballot. These representatives meet in 

ivention and draw up the constitution. The various 
provisions are debated, amended, and passed in the con- 
vention, and finally printed and submitted to the people, 
who approve <>r disapprove at the ballot of the work of 
their representatives (the referendum). 

Amendment and Revision. An amendment to the 

istitution may be proposed in the senate and assembly, 
and jed by two successive legislatures, musl be sub 

mitted to the people for ratification [the referendum). If 



94 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

it receives a majority vote, the amendment becomes a part 
of the constitution on the first day of January next follow- 
ing election. At the general election in 191 6, and every 
twenty years thereafter, and at such other times as the 
legislature may by law direct, the question, " Shall there 
be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the 
same? " is to be decided by the voters of the state. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Describe the government of the colony of New York in 
the period just before the Revolution. What important changes 
were made after separation from the mother country? 

2. State two important particulars in which the constitution 
adopted in 1894 differs from the constitution that preceded it. 

3. Mention two important amendments to the constitu- 
tion passed by the constitutional convention of 1894. Discuss 
the importance of these measures. 

4. How may the constitution of New York be amended? 
What are the provisions of the constitution for its revision? 

5. Mention the chief points of difference between the con- 
stitution of the United States and that of the state as to the 
manner of amendment. 

6. Explain why the amendment of the constitution is made 
more difficult than the repeal of a statute law. 

7. Describe the process by which the last revision of the con- 
stitution was made. By what authority was this revision 
finally established? 

8. Should an " initiative and referendum'' clause be added 
to the constitution in the next revision ? Why ? 

9. If such a clause is added, should it apply to all bodies 
having legislative powers (for example, boards of supervisors, 
common councils, etc.), as well as to the state legislature ? Why ? 

10. Mention three provisions of the state constitution, 
what law must all state action conform ? 



CHAPTER IX 

POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE 

State Activities. The regulation of the details of our 
daily life is largely a matter for the state government. 
This state regulation can best be seen in a brief survey 
of the various fields in which the state exercises basal 
authority. The state is divided up into over ten thousand 
school districts, organized under the state law to perform 
a specific duty (p. 7) ; into nearly one thousand larger 
divisions, called towns, each charged with larger responsi- 
bilities (p. 14) ; into still larger divisions, called counties, 
sixty-two in number, with responsibilities greater than those 
of the school district or the town (p. 75) ; with special duties 
assigned to the village and city governments which it 
has created, etc. In all these units of government the 
state determines the number, kind, and qualifications of 
the officers, and decides whether they shall be elected or ap- 
pointed and the appointing power, who may vote for the 
elective officers, when and how the vote shall be taken, 
who may vote upon questions involving the expenditure 
of village and city funds, reserving to itself the right of 
removing from office many of these same officers. In 
addition to being primarily responsible for the above, 
the state reserves to itself a wider field and enacts laws 
safeguarding personal and property rights, regulates the 

osfer of inheritances, creates and control- all corpo 
perating wholly within the state, exercises control 



96 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

over state banks, trust and insurance companies, common 
carriers wholly within the state, regulates the sale of 
liquor, supervises the general health and education, pro- 
vides for defective, dependent, and delinquent classes, and 
authorizes the levying of taxes to be used in making the 
above effective. 

Federal and State Bills of Rights Compared. We have 
glanced briefly at the history of our constitution ; let 
us now examine somewhat more fully the character of 
the government provided by it. In the federal constitu- 
tion the Bill of Rights was an afterthought, added by way 
of amendment at the demand of several of the states. In 
the New York stale constitution, as in most of the state 
constitutions, it stands first, as a matter of primary im- 
portance. The Bill of Rights of the New York state con- 
stitution, like that of the federal constitution, seeks to 
secure to the individual the fundamental civil rights o£ 
personal liberty, personal security, and private property ; 
but it goes further and provides in much greater detail 
the methods by which these rights are to be secured. 

Personal Liberty. The provisions which secure liberty 
of person and of thought are similar to those of the 
United States constitution. Every citizen is privileged 
to express his sentiments freely and, in case he is prose- 
cuted for libel, will be acquitted if he can prove that the 
facts are as he stated and were published " with good 
motives and for justifiable ends." Full liberty of con- 
science is accorded to every one, although this liberty is 
not to be made a cloak for practices inconsistent with the 
peace and welfare of the state. It is expressly provided 
that no person on the witness stand shall be declared 
incompetent to testify because of any peculiar ideas he 
may entertain on religious subjects. The citizens of the 



POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE 97 

state ma}' also assemble peaceably, and, if they choose, 
petition the government without fear of interference from 
the authorities. 

Personal Security, or the right to be secure in person 
and in reputation, is the subject of many important pro- 
visions. In case of arrest for any cause, the accused may 
claim the privilege of a writ of habeas corpus. Excessive 
bail and excessive lines are forbidden. With a few excep- 
tions, a person accused of serious crime can be held for 
trial only on indictment by a grand jury. lie is. more- 
over, entitled to trial by a jury of his peers (equals), and 
may have counsel for his defense. In case he is not able 
to pay counsel, it must be provided for him. He cannot 
be compelled to witness against himself, and may confront 
the witnesses brought against him. Witnesses, however, 
may not be unreasonably detained. If acquitted, he can- 
not be retried for the same offense; if found guilty, he 
cannot be lined excessively or be punished in a cruel or 
unusual manner. In short, no arbitrary proceedings may 
be employed to deprive a person of his life, liberty, or 
property, or any privilege he may enjoy as a citizen. The 
marriage relation is partially protected by a restriction 
on granting divorces. No divorce can be granted without 
the parties concerned bringing the matter before tin- court 
having jurisdiction; in other words, a divorce can be 
granted only by a formal judicial proceeding. Finally, in 
cases of injuries resulting in death, the right to recover 
damages is never to be abrogated, and the amount recov- 
erable is not to be restricted by law. 

Private Property. The rights of the state over private 

property are limited. If the state exercises the right <>l 

eminent domain and take- private property for public 

. the owner must be compensated. In cases where 5U< h 



98 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

compensation is not to be made by the state, a jury of not 
less than three men appointed by a court of record must 
determine the amount of money to be paid for the prop- 
erty taken. Some of the provisions of the constitution 
dealing with ' property in lands grew out of conditions 
existing during colonial times. While the colony was still 
Dutch, a system of feudal tenures had been established 
under the patroons, as the great landholders were called. 
By the constitution all such feudal tenures are abolished ; 
and in order to prevent the development of a landholding 
aristocracy, which might work mischief similar to that 
wrought by the patroons, another provision forbids the 
leasing of agricultural Lands, with the reservation of any 
rent or service, for a longer period than twelve years. The 
interference of one landholder with another in the matter 
of constructing roads and ditches is the subject of two 
important restrictions. In case a private road is desired, 
the law provides for the precise manner in which it shall 
be opened. The need for the road, as well as the amount 
of damage due the party whose land is involved, must 
be determined by a jury. The party benefited must, of 
course, pay any expense involved, as well as compensate 
his neighbor. Laws of a general character only are to be 
made in providing for draining lands by ditches. In 
either case no special law may be passed to suit the con- 
venience of any single individual or group of individuals. 
The state recognizes the harmfulness of gambling, and 
has sought to curtail this waste of money and energy by 
forbidding lotteries or the sale of lottery tickets, pool- 
selling, bookmaking, or any other form of gambling. 

State Debts. In addition to the restrictions in the fore- 
going paragraphs the constitution places other restric- 
tions, designed as checks, upon a possible abuse of power 






POWERS AXD LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE 99 

by those in authority. These especially concern financial 
matters. In some of the states the recklessness and im- 
providence of state Legislatures and administrators ttf 
created debts that have crippled the state and its citizens 
for main- years. Against such dangers this state has sought 
to guard itself by a series of constitutional provisions declar- 
ing what may and what may not be done in the mattei 
of creating debts. The state may, of course, contract 
debts. Contingencies may arise, such as war or invasion, 
necessitating unforeseen expenditures and making debt 
inevitable. The constitution carefully specifies, however, 
the conditions under which debts may be created. The 
state may contract debt (1) to meet casual deficits or 
failures in the revenues and (2) to meet expenses not pro- 
vided for, but such debts must never exceed $1,000,000 
in amount. It may also contract debts for the purpose of 
repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, or defending 
itself in war. If the state contracts a debt for any other 
purpose, it must carefully observe the following regula- 
tions: (1) the debt is not to be contracted unless it be 
authorized by law for some single work or object specilied 
therein : 2 the state must provide at once for its payment 
by a law laying a direct annual tax sufficient to pa}' the 
interest as it falls due and to cancel the entire obligation 
within fifty years; (3) the vote on such a measure in 
the legislature must be taken by aye> and noes and be 
duly recorded on the journal; and (4) the measure must 
submitted to the people for action before it can become 
a law and must receive a majority vote at the poll- (a case 
of referendum . Three months must elapse after the pas- 
the bill before it is submitted to the people, and 
no <>thrr bill or amendment to the constitution may be 

submitted at the same lii; 



ioo ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

State Credit. In order to prevent public money from 
being used to " sanction a vast mass of private enter- 
prises in which public rights and public interests become 
the sport of speculators/' the state is forbidden by the 
constitution to loan its credit to any private undertaking. 
The state, like the individual, refuses to allow any claims 
against it which have become outlawed by lapse of time. 

Forests and Canals. Besides these provisions which 
have to do with its finances, the state is also debarred 
from making any disposition of its forests and canals. 
The preservation of the water supply i^> of such importance 
that forest lands owned by the state or hereafter to be 
acquired as part of the forest preserve must be maintained 
as wild forot Lands. They may not be Leased, sold, or 
exchanged, nor be taken by any corporation, public or 
private; nor can the timber growing there be sold, re- 
moved, or destroyed. In like manner, the state cannot 
sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the Erie, Oswego, Cham- 
plain, Cayuga, Seneca, or Black River canals; nor can it 
enforce any tolls on the persons or property which may 
be transported on them. 

State Protection. The protection of the state against 
invasion and domestic violence is secured by making 
every male citizen between the ai^es of eighteen and forty- 
five years residing in the state liable to military duty unless 
exempted by United States law or by the laws of the state. 
This body constitutes the militia. Members of local lire 
departments ; local officers such as justices of the peace, 
county judges, and sheriffs ; professional men such as doc- 
tors, ministers, teachers, and a few others — are among 
those exempted by law from military duty. Those men- 
tally or physically incapacitated are also exempted. This 
force has been partially organized by the legislature. The 



POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE 101 

organized land force is called the national guard; the 
naval force, the naval militia. The state must, according 
to the constitution (Art. XI, § 5, p. xlv), provide for 
a force of " not less than 10,000 enlisted men, fully uni- 
formed, armed, equipped, disciplined, and ready for active 
service." The legislature has by law increased this num- 
ber to 20.000, of whom 2000 are naval militia. The 
governor is commander in chief of this force. It is his 
duty to " appoint the chiefs of the several staff depart- 
ments, his aides-de-camp, and military secretary/' the offi- 
cers commanding the naval militia, the officers of the signal 
corps, and. with the advice and consent of the senate, all 
major-generals. The legislature has provided by law for 
the appointment of the remaining officers. The national 
guard is commanded by a major-general ; the naval militia, 
by a commodore or a captain. The organization of the 
national guard is left partly to the governor. The law. 
however, provides that a regiment shall consist of eight to 
twelve companies, troops, or batteries. All enlisted men 
must serve at least five years. While on duty they receive 
a compensation which varies from $1.25 to $2.00 a day. 
The officers are also paid by the day. 

Corporations, Banks, etc. The state exercises definite 
control over corporations for the general benefit of the in- 
dividual citizen. The term " corporation " is defined by the 
constitution as including all associations and joint-stock 
companies having any of the powers or privileges of cor- 
porations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. 
All corporations except municipal corporation- arc Formed 
in accordance with general laws, except where, in the judg- 
ment of the legislature, the objects cannot be attained 
under general laws and are subject to a special tax for the 
support of the state. Municipal corporations are formed 



102 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

by special act of the legislature. The control over banks is 
especially stringent. Banks that issue paper money must 
register their notes and bills and provide ample security 
for their redemption in specie. The legislature is forbidden 
to enact any law authorizing these banks to suspend 
specie payment. If a bank fails, it must pay the holders 
of its bills in preference to any of its other creditors. The 
stockholders are personally liable for debts of the bank in 
proportion to their amount of stock. Savings banks are 
not allowed any capital stock, and the trusters are not 
allowed any interest, direct or indirect, in their profits 
nor in any loan or use of the money. Thus the people of 
the state very definitely point out what may and may not 
be done by their representatives, retaining for themsel 
the ultimate control of their own affairs. 



QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Give in substance the provision of the constitution in 
reference to freedom of worship and o\ religious opinion; in 
reference to disfranchisement of citizens; in reference to dam- 
ages for injuries causing death. 

2. What is the greatest length of time for which agricultural 

lands may be leased? Why is this restriction made? 

3. Give in substance the provision of the constitution in 
reference to opening private roads; to contracting debts on 
the part of the state; to the forest preserve; to tolls on the 
canals and the manner of providing funds for canal maintenance 
and improvement ; to prison labor ; to liability of stockholders 
of banks. 

4. Describe the military system of the state. 

5. Mention four classes of persons who are exempt from 
military duty. Give a reason for such exemption. 



POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE 103 

6. What is the provision of the constitution regarding the 
number of the militia that must be ready for active service? 

7. Describe the militia of the state, touching on (1) persons 
composing it, (2) duties. 

8. State the powers of the governor with reference to the 
militia. Has the president of the United States authority to 
call out the state militia? Give a reason for your answer. 



CHAPTER X 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Organization. The state legislature, like the national 
legislature, consists of two houses, the senate and the 
assembly. This division can be traced hack to colonial 
times, when the Legislative power was divided between 
the council and the colonial assembly, but there is now 
no such reason for its continuation as exists in the I 
of the national legislature. Both houses of the state 
legislature arc representative of the people in exactly the 
same way, and the qualifications for membership in both 

are the same. The term of the senator IS, to be- sure, 
longer than that of the assemblyman, but this difference 
in time is not sufficient to give added weight or dignity 
to the upper house. The chief difference lies in the fact 
that the senator represents a constituency three time- 
large as does the assemblyman. There is an important 
advantage in the two-chamber plan, however, in that 
more time is required for the passage of a bill through the 
two houses than through one. In this way the public 
sometimes able to express its opinion in such a material 
way as greatly to influence legislation. 

The Assembly. The number of assemblymen is fixed by 
the constitution at 150. These are apportioned through- 
out the state on the basis of population, aliens excluded. 
At the conclusion of each census the legislature immedi- 
ately defines the boundaries of the new assembly dis- 
tricts ; thus at each census the boundaries of the assembly 

104 







i Xi.v. York State, showing (above) ihe Forty tcree 

f \l District- nn \i\i. Ji dkial 

Districts 

105 



106 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

districts may be changed. Each county except Hamilton 
is entitled to one assemblyman. The number of people 
represented by an assemblyman is ascertained by divid- 
ing the total population entitled to representation by 
150. If a county contains a population equal to one 
and one half times the number represented by an assembly- 
man, the county is given two members. The remaining 
members are apportioned among those counties having a 
population equal to or greater than that represented by 
two assemblymen. Assemblymen are elected annually 
by the direct vote of the qualified voters of the district. 
The annual salary is Si 500. If more than one assembly- 
man is assigned to a county, the county is divided into 
assembly districts (see map. p. 87). 

The Speaker: his Election. The first step in the elec- 
tion of the speaker is the calling of a caucus, or meeting, 
of all the assemblymen belonging to the political party 
having a majority of the members elected to the assembly. 
The purpose of this caucus is to consider who shall he 
the candidate of the majority party. When a cboio 
finally made by the caucus, all members of the party feel 
bound to support the caucus candidate when he has been 
placed in nomination before the full assembly. By this 
method it will be seen that the speaker is actually chosen 
by a majority of the majority party, and that it is pos- 
sible for thirty-nine members to determine who has been 
the speaker of the assembly. Owing to the great power 
which the speaker exercises over legislation, it is a ques- 
tion if better results would not be obtained by changing 
either our method of selection, electing the speaker by 
popular vote of the whole state, or by eliminating all 
of his present powers and duties other than those of a 
presiding officer, giving him a vote only in case of a tie. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 107 

The Speaker : his Powers. The speaker of the assembly 
appoints the standing committees, of which there are 
about thirty, the more important being the committee of 
ways and means, judiciary, cities, railroads, education, 
taxation, health, banks, insurance, and rules. There are 
three sources of the speaker's power, and these give him 
practical control over legislation. These are (1) his power 
to appoint committees which are made up of a majority 
selected from his own political party ; (2) his power of 
recognition of members who wish to speak upon any 
measure before the assembly, giving preference to those 
having similar views to his own ; and (3) his power as 
chairman of the committee on rules, which enables him 
to determine almost absolutely what legislation shall be 
considered in the closing days of the session. 

Majority and Minority Leaders. Legislation is directed 
from the floor of the assembly by the majority leader, 
who is chairman of the committee of ways and means. 
This is a responsible position and calls for the highest 
qualities of leadership. The minority party also chooses a 
leader to direct the action of the members of the minority. 

Assembly Officers. The principal officers of the as- 
sembly are (1) the speaker, who presides over the meet- 
ings and appoints the assembly committees ; (2) the clerk, 
who records the proceedings; (3) the sergeant at arms, 
who preserves order; (4) the librarian; and (5) the door- 
keeper. Of these, only the speaker is a member of the 
assembly. He is elected by the assembly for a term of 
one year. 

The Senate. The number of senators is fifty-one, 1 appor- 
tioned on the basis of population. The senate districts, like 
the assembly districts, are to be changed after every State 

1 Laws of 1 007. 



io8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

census, so that they shall so far as possible contain an equal 
number of citizens, excluding aliens. Senators, like as- 
semblymen, are elected by direct vote of the people. 
Senate districts must consist of contiguous territory, and no 
county can be divided unless entitled to two or more senators. 
Officers of the Senate. The lieutenant governor i- ex 
officio president of the senate. As presiding officer he has 
no vote except in case of a tie. A president pro tempore 
is chosen by the senate from its own number to preside in 
the absence of the lieutenant governor. He is chosen by 
the senators in the same manner as the speaker is chosen 
in the assembly, but has none of the Latter's power other 
than that of recognition of senators desiring to obtain the 

floor for debate. The Other officers are similar to those 

of the assembly, with similar duties. The standing com- 
mittees are similar to those of the assembly. 

Members: Qualifications, Term, etc. The only quali- 
fication imposed by the constitution for membership in 
the state legislature is that the candidate shall not, at 
the time of his election or within one hundred days previous 
thereto, hold any federal or city office ; and the acceptance 
of such office after election shall vacate the member- - 
in the legislature. Senators are elected for a term of two 
years, assemblymen for one ; and both receive a salary 
of $1500 per year, with an allowance of ten cents per mile 
for traveling expenses to and from the capital once during 
the session. As in Congress, members of the state legis- 
lature are not to be questioned in any other place for any- 
thing they may say in debate in the house. 

Sessions. The sessions of the legislature are annual 
and begin the first Wednesday in January. No time limit 
is fixed, but the legislature usually adjourns the latter 
part of March or the first of April. Special sessions may 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 109 

be called at any time by the governor. In many states 
the Legislature meets but once in two years, and then 
the sessions are limited to thirty, sixty, or ninety days. 
Is this a wise plan? Discuss fully. 

Procedure. The rules for conducting business are partly 
prescribed by the constitution. A quorum usually con- 
sists of a majority of the members elected to each house, 
but when a bill imposing, perpetuating, or renewing a 
tax. or continuing or renewing an appropriation, or releas- 
ing, discharging, or commuting a claim against the state 
is under final consideration, three fifths of the members 
must be present, and the vote must be recorded on the 
journal. Each house judges as to the qualifications of its 
members, chooses its officers, makes the necessary rules, and 
appoints its committees. Both houses must keep journals 
and publish their proceedings, except such parts as demand 
secrecy ; and all sessions of both houses are open to the 
public except when the nature of the business demands 
secrecy. Neither house can adjourn for more than two 
days without the consent of the other. As in the national 
Congress, the work of the legislature is done by the com- 
mittee system (see Chapter XXI, pp. 222, 276), and the 
methods of obstructing and advancing legislation are the 
same. See pp. 621, 635, "Red Book/' 1915.) 

How a Bill becomes a Law. Any legislative bill may 
originate in either house and may be amended by the other. 

The steps in the passage of a bill in each house of the 
state legislature are practically the same and are similar 
to those in Congress (see Chapter XXL pp. 200 27 
The state constitution requires in addition thai a copy of 
the bill in it- final form shall be laid on each member's 
desk at least " three calendar legislative days" before its 
final passage, unless the governor has certified to the 



no ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

necessity for immediate action on the measure. A bill 
becomes a law in one of three ways: (i) it may receive a 
majority of the votes in both houses and the signature of 
the governor ; (2) if the governor refuses to sign the bill, 
it is returned to the house in which it originated, and if it 
then receives two thirds of the votes of both houses, it 
becomes a law without the signature of the governor; 
(3) if the governor fails to sign a bill within ten days, 
• Sundays excepted, and the Legislature has not adjourned 
in the meantime, the bill becomes law. The governor i> 
given thirty days after final adjournment of the legislature 
to consider the bills left in his hands. Bills not signed 
within this time fail to become law. The governor may 
reject one or more items of an appropriation bill without 
vetoing the whole measure. If a bill appropriates public 
money or public property for " local or private use," two 
thirds of the members must signify their approval before 

the governor can sign it. All bills appropriating money 
must definitely state the purpose for which the appro- 
priation is made, and the money must be spent within 
two years. When the two houses fail to agree, conference 
committees from each are appointed, and their recommen- 
dations are usual ly voted. 

Public-Welfare Laws. To protect those engaged in 
dangerous occupations, to safeguard the interests of women 
and children who must engage in gainful occupations, to 
assist widows with families, and to protect the public 
health, the state has departed considerably from its tradi- 
tional course in recent years. An industrial commission 
of five, appointed by the governor for a term of six years 
at a salary of $8000 each, is placed at the head of the de- 
partment of labor and is almost continuously in session. 
This commission has great powers pertaining to the safety 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT in 

and health of working men and women. State laws regu- 
late the hours that women and children may work in 
factories, stores, and other places of business, making it 
obligatory that these places be sanitary, free from dust, 
gases, and poisonous fumes, and that dangerous machinery 
be inclosed. Railroads are compelled to install safety 
devices ; engineers, pilots of vessels, chauffeurs, and 
operators of moving-picture machines must have licenses 
issued by state authority ; the common towel and drinking 
cup are now forbidden in stores, factories, schools, on 
sleeping cars, and in other places where their use might 
become the means of communicating disease. The " Work- 
men's Compensation Act M is one of the most noted 
of welfare laws. This law insures a workman and his 
family against loss of income resulting from injury or death 
while engaged in various hazardous occupations. Em- 
ployers of labor in such occupations must insure their 
workmen as provided by law, and it is one of the duties of 
the industrial commission to see that this is done. For 
the maintenance of the home, where death has taken the 
father and no income has been otherwise provided, the state 
pensions the widowed mother, providing there are children 
under sixteen years of age, in amounts equal to what it 
would cost the state to care for the children in an institu- 
tional home, and thus makes it possible to keep the family 
together. For the administration of this law the county 
judge appoints a local committee of seven, two of whom 
must be women, to inquire into and make allowance for 

needy ca 

Powers of the Legislature. The power of the legislature 
is limited by the federal constitution, treaties, and laws, and 

by the state constitution. These it cannot change and 
must not violate, but otherwise it may pass any law h 



ii2 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

pleases. The legislature elects twelve regents of the Uni- 
versity of the State of New York. The choice is made by 
the senate and assembly meeting and voting together, 
that is, in joint session. The senate may, with the 
judges of the court of appeals, sit as a court of impeach- 
ment, and it also has authority over the appointments of 
the governor. The assembly may bring charges of im- 
peachment against high state officials — the governor, 
lieutenant governor, judges, etc. Legislative commissions 
may be appointed by either house or jointly for the pur- 
pose of investigating any and all questions within the 
scope of state legislation. (See also special restrictions 
outlined in Art. Ill, pp. xii-xiv. ) 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Explain the advantage to the people of a legislature con- 
sisting of two houses. 

2. Why are members of the assembly elected more frequently 

than senators? Why is the number of members of the assembly 
greater than that of senatoi *s ? 

3. Give the divisions of the legislature of this state ; the title 
of the presiding officer of each ; the special powers of the 
senate. 

: 4. State the provisions of the constitution regarding repre- 
sentation in the legislature ; special powers of assembly. 

5. When and how is the number of members of the assembly 
apportioned among the several counties ? 

6. Compare the office of president of the senate with that of 
speaker of the assembly, touching on (i) mode of election, 
(2) privilege of voting, (3) power with reference to the appoint- 
ment of standing committees. 

7. State the conditions which would render a person in- 
eligible to the legislature. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 115 

8. Justify the following provision in the state constitution: 

"For any speech or debate in either house oi the legislature 
the members shall not be questioned in any other place." 

9. Under what circumstances and by whom may a special 
s —ion of the legislature be called? 

10. What proportion of the members oi each house oi the 
legislature constitutes a quorum to do ordinary busim 
Mention two cases in which a two-thirds vote is required to 
pass a bill. 

11. Explain the necessity of legislative committees. State 
two evils that may result from transacting business through 
such committer 

12. How are contested elections in each branch of the legis- 
lature decided? 

13. What are the present constitutional provisions regarding 
the passing of bills by the legislature? as to printing bill-? as 
to impeachment trials? 

14. Give in substance an important provision of the con- 
stitution in reference to appropriation bills. 

15. Mention three restrictions imposed by the constitution 
on the legislature. Give the reason for such limitation. 

16. Give two powers common to the assembly and the senate. 
Mention one power possessed by the senate but not by the 

mbly. 

17. What constitutes the impeachment court? 



CHAPTER XI 
THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER EXECUTIVES 

General Provisions. The executive officers of the state 
are so numerous that it is possible to consider only the 
more important. There are, however, certain genera] 
provisions of the constitution which apply to all alike. 
In the first place, with the exception of the governor 
and the lieutenant governor, the state prescribes no spe- 
cial qualifications for its executive officers. Every state 

officer must take an oath to support the constitution of 

the United State- and of the state of New York, and to 
perform his duties faithfully. In order to guard against 
corruption, a heavy penalty is imposed upon officers 

who aecept a bribe. No official whose compensation is 

fixed by law is allowed to receive an additional compen- 
sation, nor can the salary of an officer be increased or 

diminished during his term of office. To minimize the 
influence exercised by Large corporations upon legislation, 
the constitution provides that no state officer shall be per- 
mitted to accept a free pass, free transportation, or other 
special privileges from a railroad, telegraph, or telephone 
company. 

The Governor. The most important officer in the 
state is the governor. A candidate for this position must 
be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, 
and a resident of the state for five years next preceding 
his election. He is elected by direct vote of the people for 

114 






THE GOVERNOR AXD OTHER EXECUTIVES 115 

a term of two years at a salary of Sio,ooo ! per year, with 
the free use of the executive residence. In case oi a lie 
vote, the legislature chooses by joint ballot a governor 
from the persons having an equal number of votes. The 
ernor is removable only by impeachment. In case of 
removal by death, resignation, or impeachment, or in 

se of disability of any kind, he is succeeded by the 
lieutenant governor. In the event of the inability of the 
latter to serve, the office devolves upon the president pro 
tern] nate, and in case of his failure to serve, 

upon the speaker of the assembly. 

Powers of the Governor. The powers of the governor 
are (1 executive, (2) legislative, and 151 judicial. His 
:utive duties are to enforce the provisions of the con- 
stitution and all measures passed by the legislature. He 
is commander in chief of the military and naval forces of 
the state, and transacts all necessary business with the 
officers of the state, civil and military, many of the more 
important of whom he appoints. His legislative power con- 
- in his exercise of the veto, his annual and special 
messages pointing out, many times, desirable legislation. 
In case he is a strong party leader and his party is in the 
majority in the legislature, his suggestions are generally 
followed. He may also convene the Legislature, or the 
senate alone, in extra session whenever, in his opinion, the 
occasion requires. After a bill has been passed by both 
hoi; slature, it is sent to the governor. After 

a bill r ernor. it takes the following coir 

if approved by the governor, he signs it and the bill 
become- Statute law; (2) if the governor disapproves of 

1 Th mme&ding that th- 

be amended, making the salary of the governor $20,000; 
$3000 lymen, $2500. 



n6 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the bill, he returns it within ten days, with a memorandum 
of his objections, to the house in which it originated ; if 
it is repassed by a two- thirds majority of both houses, it 
becomes a law without his signature ; (3) if it is not re- 
turned within ten days, Sundays excepted, it becomes a 
law without the governor's signature, unless the legisla- 
ture has adjourned, when he has thirty days. The gov- 
ernor may appoint a public hearing upon any bill, and 
may veto items in an appropriation bill without vetoing 
the entire measure (Art. IV, §9, p. xviii). The gover- 
nor's judicial power consists in granting reprieves, par- 
dons, and commutations, exevpt in cases of impeachment. 

Even in cases of treason lie may suspend the execution of 
the sentence until the next session of the legislature. He 
must, however, report annually to the Legislature all ca 

of the exercise of tin's power (Art. IV, §5, p. xvii). 

The power of the governor is further shown in his ap- 
pointment of a large number of important administration 
officials, boards, and commissions charged with the duty 
of carrying into effect the laws of the state. There are 
eighteen such departments, chief among which are the 
civil-service commission, public-service commissions one 
for the metropolitan district, one for the rest of state), 
commissioner of excise, commissioner of labor, superin- 
tendent of banks, superintendent of insurance. The gov- 
ernor exercises- the power of removal of certain state 
officials with the consent of the senate, and of certain 
county and city officials without its consent (Art. X, 
§ 1, p. xliii). He may assign justices of the supreme 
court to certain duties, and may fill vacancies in certain 
judicial, state, and county offices. He x may appoint a 

1 In 1908 President Roosevelt invited the governors of the states to 
meet him in Washington and talk over important matters. The governors 



THE GOVERNOR AXD OTHER EXECUTIVES 117 

United States senator to fill a vacancy pending election, 
and may order an election in a congressional district to 
fill a vacancy in Congress, and in this way directly influ- 
ence federal legislation. 

The Lieutenant Governor. Though the lieutenant 
governor occupies a less commanding position than does 
the governor, it would be a great mistake to select for the 
place a man who would not make a good governor should 
he for any reason be called upon to assume the duties of 
that office, as has happened. Like the governor, he is 
elected by direct vote of the people for a term of two years. 
His salary is S5000 per year. He is ex officio president of 
the senate ; and by having the casting vote in case of a 
tie. and by his power of recognizing members who desire 
to speak, he may materially influence legislation. He is 
also ex officio member of certain administrative boards 
and commissions. 

Other Administrative Officers. The governor is assisted 
in the performance of the executive work of the state 
by a large number of administrative officers, boards, 
and commissions, of whom some are elected directly by 
the people, others are appointed by the governor with the 
advice and consent of the senate. Some of these officials 
correspond exactly in name and function to the president's 
assistants, the heads of the great executive departments 
in the national government; but their relation to the gov- 
ernor differ- very considerably from the relation of the 
president's assistants to him. The administrative officers 



have met several times sinee f<»r similar purposes upon their own motion. 

meeting together is referred t<> as the House of Governors t and their 

d of important questions is likely t«> have its effect upon uniform 

Stat- >n, and may fa bearing upon federal and state- rela- 

.ip. defining more clearly the field of each. 



n8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of the state, particularly those elected directly by the people, 
are practically independent of the chief executive, and are 
in no sense a cabinet. They do not form an advisory 
council and need not hold political views in harmony with 
his. The elective officers are not subject to removal by 
the governor; and even in the case of appointive offio 
the governor can exercise his power of removal only under 
restrictions. These officers are to a large degree the 
managers of the state's business, for the state, like the indi- 
vidual, has its purely business interests. These inter* 
are varied and require the personal attention of hundreds 
of assistants. Some of the more important business matters 
are the collection and distribution of the taxes ; the admin- 
istration of schools, charitable institutions, prisons, and 
canals; the purchase, sale, and care of public land-; the 
payment of employees, etc. It is simply good bush 
management on the pari of the people so to protect their 
business agents that they cannot be seriously interfered 
with while discharging their obligations to the state. 

Secretary of State. The secretary of state is elected 
for a term of two years by the voters of the entire state, 
in the same manner as the governor. His salary is $6000 
per year. He is the keeper of the state archives and the 
great seal, and superintends the publication and distribution 
of the laws, to which he attaches his certificate. He ad- 
ministers the oath of office to the members of the legisla- 
ture and to other state officers, and reports to the Legislature 
annually. He is ex officio a member of the land office and 
canal fund, a member of the canal board, of the board of 
state canvassers (of elections returns), of the state board 
of equalization of assessments, of the state printing board, 
and one of the officers to designate the state paper. He is 
a trustee of Union College ; he fixes the salaries of the resi- 



THE GOVERNOR AXD OTHER EXECUTIVES 119 

dent officers of the state hospitals, subject to the approval 
of the governor and the comptroller, and performs various 
minor duties. The secretary of state can be removed from 
office only by impeachment. 

Comptroller. The comptroller is elected for a term of 
two years by the voters of the entire state and receives 

a -alary of SSooo per year. He audits all accounts against 
the state and issues warrants on the treasurer for their 
payment, as directed by law. He designates the banks 
in which the funds of the state shall be deposited, collects 
the tax on corporations, supervises the collection of the 
transfer and stock-transfer taxes, sells the land of delin- 
quent taxpayers in the various counties in which are in- 
cluded a part of the forest preserve, examines the accounts 
of the court and trust funds deposited with the treasurer 
of every county of the state, regulates the forms of accounts 
and manner of investment, appoints examiners of munici- 
pal accounts, and performs various minor duties. He is 
ex officio a member of several important boards and com- 
missions, of the state board of canvassers, of the board 
of equalization of assessments, and a trustee of Union 
College. 

Treasurer. The state treasurer is elected on the general 
ticket by the voters of the entire state for a term of two 
years, at a salary of S6000 per year. He is the custodian 
of all moneys paid into the state treasury, and moneys 
owed by the state are paid out by him upon proper war- 
rants (or orders). He is a member of the canal board, of the 
state board of canvassers, of the board of equalization of 
assessments, and of other boards and commissions. He is 
authorized by law to perform other duties, and may be sus- 
pended by the governor during a recess of the Legislature 
and for thirty days after it convenes, for neglect of duty. 



120 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Attorney-General. The attorney-general is elected upon 
the general state ticket by all the voters of the state. He 
is chosen for a term of two years, at a salary of Si 0,000 
per year. It is his duty to prosecute and defend all 
actions and proceedings in which the state is interested, 
and to have charge and control of all the Legal bush 
of the officers and departments of the state except the mili- 
tary department. He is a member of the state hoard of 
canvassers, of the board of equalization of assessments, 
and of several other important boards and commissions. 

State Engineer and Surveyor. The state engineer and 
surveyor is elected upon the general State ticket for a term 

of two years, at a salary of $8000 per year. He has charge 
of the surveys and supervises the public lands and canals, 
and must be a practical engineer. He is ex officio a mem- 
ber of several important boards and COmmissioi 

Other Elective Officers. Besides the above, the people 

elect fifty-one senators for a term of two years, at an 
annual salary of Si 500, and support in addition over one 
hundred officers of the senate ; one hundred fifty assembly- 
men for a term of one year, at an annual salary of Si 500, 
and one hundred and eleven assembly officials; ten judges 
of the court of appeals for a term of fourteen years, at a 
salary of $13,700 per year, with $14,200 for the chief judge ; 
and one hundred two judges of the supreme court for a 
term of fourteen years, each at a salary of $17,500 per year 
in the first and second districts, and $10,000 per year in 
the remaining seven districts. These judges are chosen 
by the people voting by districts. The people also elect 
forty- three representatives to Congress from as main- 
districts, and two United States senators from the state 
as one district. The legislature by joint ballot choo 
twelve members of the board of regents, one each year, 






THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER EXECUTIVES 121 

for a term of twelve years each. They have general 
supervision of education and serve without salary. 

Appointed by the Governor. In addition to those 
chosen by the people at the general elections, the following 
arc the chief officers appointed by the governor, by and 
with the advice and consent of the senate. The only sig- 
nificance to the number of officers, clerks, and assistants 
is to impress upon the student the enormous army of people 
who are working for the state, that is, who are doing our 
business for us. This number changes from time to time. 



Name 


Term 


Salary 


Main Duties 


Commissioner of 


3 yrs- 


$Sooo and 


Appoints a director of farmers' 


agriculture 




necessary 


institutes and other officers to 






expenses 


enforce the laws. Appoints ex- 
pert butter and cheese makers 
to examine and inspect butter 
and cheese factories and im- 
part information as to best 
methods of making and im- 
proving quality of these prod- 
ucts. Has access to all places 
where dairy products are 
made and may examine same 
to detect violations of the law. 


Commissioner of 


5 yrs. 


S7000 


With his assistants issues liquor- 








tax certificates and collects 
pay therefor; receives reports 
of violations of the law. 


State board of 


8 yrs. 


$10 a day 


Visits, inspects, and supervises 


char 




for attend- 


all institutions or associations 


One is ap- 




ance at 


which are of a < han't. ibl 


Tom 




meeting; 


rectional, or reformatory char- 


each judicial 




not 1 


a< ter, public <>r private, with 


ind 




1 $500 


the exception of those in- 


litional 






trusted to the 1 ommission in 


from X.Y. City 






[una 1 ommission 



122 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Name 



Term 



Not fixed 



C i vil-service 
commission (3), 
not more than 
two of whom 
are to be from 
same political 
party 



Conservation 6 yrs. 

commission 



Salary 



Main Duties 



Commissioner of 
health. Must 
be a physician 
of ten or more 
years 1 experi- 
ence and also 
a college grad- 
uate 



State hospital 
commission in 



4 yrs. 



$5000 and 
traveling 
expenses 



Si 0,000 and 
necessary 

CXpi 



SSooo and 

expenses 



6 yrs. 



President 



of prisons; frames rules for 
reception and retention of 
inmates; reports annually to 
Legislature. 

Aids the governor in preparation 
of rules with which to test fit- 
ness and capacity of applicants 
for employment in the public 
rvice of the state, to the end 

that appointments and pro- 
motions shall be made on the 

basis of merit and competition. 

Acquires forest land- for state, 
administers laws relating to 
tree 1 ulture, state p urka 
ervations, etc. ; 1 nfon es fish 
and game laws, pre »j 1 
distributes among the waters 
of the state food and fish, has 
1 barge of -Kit- hat< heries 

Looks after the interests of 

health and life of people of 

state; inquires into 
of disease, especially epidem- 
ic- ; investigates sour 

mortality and effect of locali- 
ties, employments, and other 
conditions upon public health ; 
collects vital statistics; looks 
after health as it relates to 
sale of food, drugs, 
Has exclusive jurisdiction over 
all institutions for care of in- 



Note. The governor also appoints three superintendents of election for terms 
of four years, at an annual salary of $5000 each. These appoint three " chief m 
deputies at a salary of $4500 each, and 400 deputies whose compensation is $5 per 
day for actual services rendered. 




THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER EXECUTIVES 123 



Name 



Term 



M \.\ 1 H tits 



lunacy 

Second mem- 
ber must be a 
lawyer and the 
third a layman. 
Office force of 



State commission 
of prison- 

mem) 



Two publi< 

ice Commis- 
sions of five 
members each 



State tax com- 



4 >' rs - 






$7500, 

other- 
s' 000. 
Each of 
the three 

is allowed 
DO for 
expenses 
$10 per day 

and their 
expenses 



$15,000 



>' 900 



sane; examines into t! 

condition, inquires Into their 
methods of management and 
government; licenses private 

institutions. Supervises the 
expenditures of all state hos- 
pitals ; requires annual report - 
from state hospitals. 

Visits and inspects all institu- 
tions used for the detention 
of sane adults charged with 
crime; aids in securing their 
just. humam\ and economic 
administration ; investigates 
their management and the 
conduct of their officials ; pro- 
tects and preserves health of 
prisoners; arranges for their 
employment. 

Represents the interests of the 
general public in matters re- 
lating to railroads, street-car 
lines, and common carriers, 
with reference t<> service 
charges, switches, sidetracks, 
freight rati-, etc.; also in 

matters relating to gas and 
electrical corporations, trie- 
phone and telegraph compa- 
nies, and those emplo\ ed by 
the same. The aim is to 
improve sen i 

and with ty to 

the public and emplo) i 
h compai : 
Visit oft'n ially every county once 

in t .' nd inquire into 



i2 4 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Name 


Term 


Salary 


Main Duties 


members) 






the methods of assessment 
and taxation ; furnish local as- 
sessors with instruction; hear 
and determine appeals from 
local equalization 1 
within the several counties; 
report annually to legislature. 


Superintendent 


3 yis. 


Sio,ooo 


Supervises banks operated under 


of banks 




Expenses of 


state laws, savings banks, 






this i 


tru>t, loan, and mortgage ( <>m- 






are paid by 


panies <>r associations, efe 






the ins: i- 


Receives reports from these, 






tutions In- 


banks reporting quarterly, 






spected 


Savings banks and all others 

in genera] semiannually. Re- 
ports annually to legislature. 


Superintendent 


3 >' rs - 


Sio,ooo. Ex- 


Controls and supervises insur- 


of insurance 




pens* - an- 


< ompanies doing b 






paid by 


in the state-; requires all life 






insurant e 


and casualty companies ol the 






i ompanies 


-air and all foreign insurance 






doing busi- 


companies to dep<>>it securi- 






ness in this 


ties with him for the protec- 






state 


tion of policyholders; has 

power to refuse a company 
right to transact busii. 
the state. Reports annually 
to legislature. 


Superintendent 


2 yrs. 


SSooo 


Carries out laws relating to re- 


of public works 


i.e., for 




pair and navigation of ca- 


(a deputy and 


t erm of 




nals, their construction and 


three assistant 


governor 




improvement, except so far as 


superintend- 


who 




the execution of such laws may 


ents, appointed 


nomi- 




be confided to state engineer 


by the superin- 


him, or 




and surveyor; subject to the 


tendent of pub- 


until his 




control of legislature, makes 


lic works for 


successor 




rules and regulations for navi- 



THE GOVERNOR AND OTHER EXECUTIVES 1.5 








Ti BLM 


Salary 


Main Dl 


3 \r> , each re- 


QU.: 




gatioD Or Use of the canals, lias 


ceives salary oi 






charge oi expenditure oi all 


$3000) 






moneys appropriated by legis- 
lature for public Improvements 
authorized by special acts, 


.Architect 


During 


Si 0,000 


Prepares plans, specifications, 




pleasure 




and acts as supervising archi- 




of gov- 




tect oi all buildings con- 




ernor 




structed by the state. 


Superintendent 


5 yrs. 


$0000 


Supervises state prisons and 


►tate prisons 






convicts therein, discipline, 
police, contracts and penal 

concerns thereof subja t to 
existing laws; appoints agents 

and wardens, physicians and 
chaplains of prisons; reports 
annually to legislature. 


mis- 


2 yrs. 


Si 2, COO 


Charge of state roads and im- 


sioner of high- 






provements. 


ways 









Summary. In 1914 the state's payroll approximated 
822,254,700. The state's business required 17,414 regular 
employees under salary and 1107 employees serving with- 
out compensation, in addition to a large number of persons 
employed by the day to whom $2,873,204 <>! the above 
sum was paid. During tlu- same year the Greater City oi 
N v.- York employed 69,280 different people and paid 
$104,353,286 for tin- services which they rendered. No 
Political significance whatever is attached to the vast 
majority of the state's employees, and. since hitter results 
for the state 1 an l>c obtained by trained help, the net essity 
for taking precautions to secun ice and to 

rd entrance to thai service, which is the work oi 



126 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the civil-service commission, is apparent. Furthermore, 
state officials should work as many hours per day as many 
days per year as they would be required to do by a private 
corporation. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. State the conditions of eligibility to the office of governor, 
giving reasons. What is his salary? his length of term? 

2. Give the mode n\ electing the governor, and five of his 
duties. Name the other officers elected by direct vote of all 
the voters of the state. What state and county officers may 
he remove? 

3. Give in Substance the provision of the constitution in 

reference to the succession to the governorship in case of the 

death, resignation, etc. of the governor. 

4. What control has the governor mer legislation? On 
what ground- is this arrangement justifiable? 

5. State the qualifications, term ni office, salary, and chief 
duties of the lieutenant governor. 

6. When is the lieutenant governor not entitled to a casting 
vote? Why this restriction? 

7. Mention the principal duties of the following offio 
(i) attorney-general, (2) state engineer and surveyo] omp- 

troller, (4) state treasurer. 

8. In what respects are the duties oi the secretary of state 
of the United States and oi the state (1) similar, {2) dis- 
similar? 

9. Distinguish between the duties of the state comptroller 
and those of the state treasurer. Which officer is the more im- 
portant? Give reasons for your answer. 

10. Name two state officers appointed by the governor. 

11. Name one state commission and mention its principal 
duties. 



THE GOVERNOR AXD OTHER EXECUTIVES 127 

12. State the manner of obtaining office, the length oi term, 

and the chief duty of the commissioner of excise. 

13. Describe the organization and mention the principal 
functions of the state board of charities. 

14. Describe the organization and state the principal func- 
tion oi the civil-service commission; of the public-service 
commissions. 

15. What is meant by the civil service? What are the 

provisions of the constitution of this state regarding the civil 
service? What important change was made in this law in 1S99? 

16. Give in substance the provision of the constitution in 
reference to civil-service appointments and promotions. 

17. What are the principal duties of the department of 
health? 

18. Describe the department of labor touching on (1) or- 
ganization, (2) principal functions. 



CHAPTER XII 
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Courts and Judges. The business of interpreting the 
law is vested in a regular series of courts — justice 

and municipal courts, county court, supreme court, appel- 
late division of the supreme court, and court of appeals. 
No judge of any of these court-, except justice- <)\ the 
peace, may receive any Eeesor perquisites of oiucc in addi- 
tion to his regular salary, which is determined by law and 
cannot be increased or diminished during his term of 
office. Every member of these court.-, except justi 
of the peace and the county judge in Hamilton County, 
must be an attorney and counselor of this state. None 
of these officers, however, except justices of the peace and 
county judges and surrogates in counties of Less than 
120,000 population, may carry on any private practice or 
act as a referee in the state during his term o\ office; and 
the Legislature may impose a similar prohibition upon 
county judges and surrogates in other counties. When a 
judge has reached the age of seventy years, he must retire. 

Justice Courts. The lowest court for the trial of ( 
both civil and criminal is a justice court, presided over by 
a justice of the peace. This is primarily a town court, 
and is nearest to the people. City governments have 
provided special courts, which have absorbed much of the 
business of justice courts. The justices, four in each town, 

128 




The Senate Chambeb above) ind rai Assembly Ghambei 
idow) en che m.mi. Capitol ai Albany 



120 



130 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

are chosen by the voters in town meeting for a term of 
four years. They are paid by fees. Their jurisdiction is 
limited to petty criminal cases and to civil cases where 
the amount involved does not exceed $200. They may, 
however, issue warrants for the arrest of persons suspected 
of graver offenses, and may after examination admit them 
to bail (money security for their appearance in court when 
wanted) or send them to jail to await the action of the 
grand jury. Over both civil and criminal cases of a minor 
nature a justice court has original jurisdiction ; that is, 
such cases may be begun there. Appeals from the deci- 
sion of a justice court may be taken to the county court; 
that is, either party to a civil suit may upon request have 
his case reexamined in the count}- court. 

County Courts. The court next higher than a justice 
court is the county court. A- it- name implies, it- 
jurisdiction is limited to the boundaries of the county. 
It has both original and appellate jurisdiction over most 
of the cases, either civil or criminal, arising in the county. 
Its jurisdiction in civil cases is limited to those in which 
the amount involved does not exceed S2000. Issues of 
fact in a county court are determined by a jury of twelve 
men drawn by the county clerk from the list furnished 
by the town board and the board of supervisors (pp. 135- 
136). In every county except the county of Kings, 
which has tw r o county judges, and the county of New 
York, which has no county court, there is a single county 
court, presided over by a judge chosen by the voters of 
the county for a term of six years at a salary fixed by law 
but varying in different counties. County judges may 
be removed by a two-thirds vote of the senate on the 
recommendation of the governor, but such removal may 
be made only for cause and after the judge has been 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 131 

informed of the charge against him and has been given 
opportunity to defend himself. 

The Supreme Court is the next court higher than the 

county court. In this court may be tried all grave crimes 
against the laws of the stale, and all important civil cases. 
The state has been divided into nine judicial districts, in 
each of which the court holds it> sessions. The first 
district is entitled to thirty-two judges, the second to 
twenty ; the third to seven, the fourth and sixth to six ; the 
fifth to eight; the seventh to seven ; the eighth to fourteen; 
and the ninth to seven; making in all one hundred two, 
elected for terms of fourteen years. In the first and second 
districts the salary is $17,500 annually, and $10,000 in each 
of the other seven districts. The judges are elected by 
the voters of their respective district-. At the age ^i 
Seventy years a judge must retire. Judges may he re- 
moved by a concurrent resolution passed by the legislature, 
providing two thirds of the members concur. The supreme 
court has both appellate and original jurisdiction ; thai i-, 
s may be begun in this court or taken to it on appeal 
from the county court. 

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. To lighten 

the labors of the court of appeal- another c ourt was created 

in iSr^. called the appellate division <>t tin- supreme court. 

is divided into four judicial departments, the 

first consisting ountiesof New York and The Bronx, 

the other department- including the judicial districts Dear 

them. There i- an appellate division in rath department, 

lively in New York City (fil lyn 

Albany (third . and Eta hi I tom 

those elected 60 the supreme court the L r "\<ni«>r assigns 

en judges t<> the first and five <a< h t<> the other depart- 

me:. >r this service supreme-court judgi - receive an 



i 3 2 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

additional salary of $2000, and the presiding judge of each 
department, $2500. No more than five judges may sit 
in any case, four are necessary for a quorum, and the 
concurrence of three is necessary to render a decision. 

Court of Appeals. The highest court in the state is 
the court of appeals. It is a court of last resort in ques- 
tions arising under the laws of the state. The judges are 
ten in number and are chosen by the direct vote of the 
people of the whole state. Their term is for fourteen years, 
and their salary is $13,700 per year. One of their number 
is chosen as chief justice and receives $14,200. No judge 
of this court can be removed without the action of two 
thirds of the members of both houses of the legislature. 
Temporary vacancies are filled by the governor, with the 
advice and consent of the senate, until the time of the next 
general election. This court is almost continuously in 
session in rooms in the capitol building at Albany. Five 
judges are necessary to constitute a quorum, and the con- 
currence of four is necessary to a decision. Its jurisdiction 
is strictly limited to reviewing questions of law, except 
where the judgment is death. That is to say, this court 
deals only with cases brought up from the lower courts 
on appeal, and examines them only with a view to deter- 
mining whether the law has been properly interpreted. 
It is only in grave criminal cases that it examines into the 
facts. 

Special Courts. Besides the regular system of state 
courts there are certain special courts — the court of 
impeachment, the court of claims, and the surrogate's 
court. The court of impeachment differs from all courts of 
law. Charges of impeachment are brought against the 
governor, lieutenant governor, judges, etc. by the assembly 
and tried before the senate, the judges of the court of 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT [33 

appeals, and the president of the senate, sitting together 
as a court of impeachment. When the governor or the 
lieutenant governor is on trial, the president of the senate 
does not sit with the court, it being presumed that he would 
be an interested party. A two-thirds vote is necessary 
for conviction, and the power o\ the court does not extend 
further than to remove from office the person convicted, 
or to disqualify him from holding any office o\ honor, 
trust, or profit under this state. The court of claims con- 
sists oi three judges appointed by the governor, with tin- 
advice and consent of the senate, for a term ^\ ten year-, 
at a salary of SSooo per year each. One of their number 
is designated by the governor as presiding judge. It- 
jurisdiction extends to case- of private claim- against the 
state and of the state against a claimant. A state IS a 
sovereign in strictly state matters; that i-. it i- the original, 
tirst, or highest authority within its field. It is therefore 
incompatible with state dignity to be sued by one of it- 
subjects, so to speak. In order, therefore, to gel around 
this question of dignity and permit the subject to do the 
same thing under a different name, the court of claims IS 
iblished. The jurisdiction of the surrogate's court is 
often exercised by the county court. In counties with a 
population of over 40,000 a special sun urt for 

tlie trial of cases involving the settlement of wills and 

as may be had. This court also 
appoints guardians for tl of minor- (children under 

twenty-one years of age) and their property. Tin- term 
and the salary of the surr< pi in the county 

of New York, is the same a- that of the county judge. 
A coroner's court \- held f<>r the pui ting 

the suspicious and sudden death-. The coroner 

warrant for the ar: in) per 



134 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

charged with the commission of the crime under investi- 
gation. In the course of his investigation he may sum- 
mon any persons as witnesses, and examine them as to 
their knowledge of the case under investigation. A 
coroner's court, a justice court, and most city courts are 
not courts of record, while county, surrogate's, supreme, 
and the court of appeals are courts of record; that is, the 
last four courts each have a clerk who keeps a detailed 
record of what the court does. Courts of record also 
have an official seal. 

The Duty of the Courts. Courts frequently find it 
necessary to determine what the law mean-, and to deter- 
mine whether a law is constitutional, as well as to decide 
disputes between individuals. People do not all get the 
same meaning from reading the same law ; each may insist 
that he is correct, and the court has to decide. Or a 
law passed by the legislature may seriously affect busi- 
ness firms of long standing. Any firm or individual so 
affected may bring suit to test the constitutionality of the 
law, when again the courts must decide. If found to he 
constitutional, then the Law stands and must he obeyed; 
if not constitutional, then the courts set it aside and the 
conditions remain the same as they were before the act was 
passed by the Legislature. 

Civil Procedure. Before we can have a lawsuit there 
must be a disagreement between individuals which they 
refuse to settle between themselves. Suppose that such 
a disagreement involves the ownership of property. A 
suit at law over property is called a civil suit. The party 
who is aggrieved brings the dispute into court for settle- 
ment. He is said to be the plaintiff, and to have brought 
the suit. The person who is opposed to this view is called 
the defendant. The defendant must know who has made 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 135 

a charge against him, what the charge is, and when he 
must answer the charge. The notice and the answer must 
be in writing. This notice is called a summons. If the 
defendant fails to appear in court at the time set lor the 
trial, the plaintiff may prove his case by his witnesses 
and himself, and the judge will direct the executive officer, 
sheriff, or eon-table to execute the order of tin 1 court, or 
judgment, and put the plaintiff in possession of his claim. 
If, however, the defendant appears and disputes the claim, 
then the case has to be tried and the facts established by 
the jury. After hearing the witnesses on both sides, the 
jury renders a decision called a verdict, anil the judge 
orders the one found to be in the right to be given p 
- —ion of the property, as in the former case. If both 
parties agree, the case may be tried before the judge 
without the aid of a jury. 

Criminal Procedure: the Arrest. The burning of a 
building is a crime which we eall arson; the forcible 
taking of another's goods without his consent, robbery or 
burglary: the attack upon one's person, assault. If any 
crime of this or a similar nature has been committed, 
it is the duly of the peace officer sheriff, eon-table, 
policeman — to try to find the criminal. The injured 
party or some one knowing of the (rime goes before a 
judge, justice, or mayor, tells him what ha- happened, and 
describe- the person if possible. If the magistrate is con- 
vinced that a crime ha- been committed, he issues a war- 
rant for the arrest of the suspected person. This warrant 
written paper describing the person and dire< ting that 
he be brought before the magistrate. Ii is given to a 
on-table, policeman, or sheriff . l".. arrest 
the person the officer may (all upon people to aid him. 
may bn-ak into a building, and u-e violence, even to the 



136 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

death of the person if necessary, but never more than is 
necessary, for he too must obey the laws. 

Criminal Procedure: the Indictment. After the arrest 
the person is taken before the magistrate, who informs him 
of the charge against him and the facts pointing to the 
truth of the charge. The law assumes all men innocent 
until proved guilty. With as little delay as possible the 
prisoner is examined, and either dismissed or held for trial, 
according to the evidence. Unless the offense is of a serious 
nature, the prisoner may Furnish bail to appear in court 
when wanted. If the prisoner cannot furnish security, he 
must go to jail until the hour of his trial has struck. If 
the charge is for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, 
the prisoner is not admitted to hail, hut must remain in 
jail to await the action of the grand jury, The grand jury 
is a body of men selected in different ways in different 
counties (find out how the grand jury is chosen in your 
county). The names are put into a box. When the court 
for the trial of criminals is held, the names of twenty-four 
men are drawn out of this box by the count}' clerk in the 
presence of the judge and sheriff. The drawing is done at 
random. The grand jury consists of not less than sixteen 
nor more than twenty-three men. except in Xew York 
County, where the number is thirty-six. It is the business of 
the grand jury to inquire into the facts of the cases brought 
before it by the district attorney. Witnesses are sum- 
moned and evidence produced to support the charges 
made against the prisoner. The case is presented by the 
district attorney in writing, and is called a bill of indict- 
ment. If twelve or more members of the grand jury think 
the evidence is sufficient to warrant a court trial, the fore- 
man writes across the back of the indictment the words 
" A true bill," and the prisoner must stand trial in court. 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 137 

If, on the other hand, a majority of the jury think the 
evidence insufficient, the indictment is returned to the court 
with the words, " Not a true bill," which ends the case. 

Criminal Procedure : the Trial. Supposing the grand 
jury has reported a true bill. Then the prisoner appears 
in the custody of the sheriff in open court and stands 
trial. If the case is a misdemeanor (a lesser form of 
crime), the prisoner may not appear in person, but may 
be present through his attorney; if the case is a felony 
(a more serious crime), lie must appear in person. The 
charge is made out as against the people of the state of 
Xew York, who are represented in court by the district 
attorney, who is, in such cases, a state officer, although 
chosen by the people of the county. The indictment is 
then read to the prisoner before the judge in open court, 
and he is asked to answ r er as to the truth of the charge. 
If he pleads (answers) guilty, the judge sentences him to 
punishment as rixed by state law, and the case ends. If 
he claims to have been at some former trial in a court of 
law where he has been acquitted or convicted of this same 
charge (which is not a repetition of the offense), and his 
statement is found to be true, he is dismissed and the 
case is ended. If, on the other hand, he pleads not guilty, 
then a question of fact arises, and the case is tried before 
a jury. The prisoner has a right to have an attorney 
and to summon witnesses for his defense. If he is unable 
to pay these, then the expense must be a public charge. 

A trial, or petit, jury consists of twelve citizens of the 
United St tes residing within the county where the crime 
was committed. They must be property owner-, between 
the ages <»f twenty-one and seventy years. The process of 
drawing a trial jury differs in different counties (find out 
the way it i- done in your county). Thirty-six name- 



138 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

are supplied, from which twelve are chosen. If twelve 
persons acceptable to both sides of the case cannot be 
chosen from the thirty-six names supplied, another thirty- 
six names are supplied, and so on until an acceptable twelve 
is obtained. Each thirty-six names constitute a " panel." 
The district attorney then presents the case and brings 
witnesses to prove to the jury the guilt of the person 
charged with the crime. The attorney for the prisoner 
brings witnesses to prove the contrary. When both side- 
have finished, the judge makes his charge to the jury, 
that is, explains the law governing the case. The jury 
then retires to consider the evidence and arrive at a de- 
cision, [f tlie twelve jurors cannot agree, the foreman 
reports no agreement; if they all agree, he reports guilty 
or not guilty. U guilty, the judge pronounces sentec 
the prisoner is turned over to the peace officers and sent 
to prison or to death; if not guilty, the judge 3ets the 
prisoner free; if there is a disagreement, then the cast 
either set for a new trial or dismissed. The prisoner has 
the right of appeal to a higher court if the jury lias ren- 
dered a verdict of guilty, on the ground that the verdict 
is not in accordance with the law or that an error has 
been committed in the first trial. The higher court will 
then review the proceedings of the lower court, and, if 
the appeal is sustained, order a new trial ; if no error i^ 
found, the appeal is dismissed and the order of the lower 
court stands. It is the duty of all citizens to be ready to 
serve as jurors and to the best of their ability further the 
ends of justice. 

United States Courts: Perjury. New York State is 
in the second judicial circuit of the United States court 
of appeals. The state is divided into four districts, — 
northern, southern, eastern, and western, — in which are 









JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 139 

held regular sessions of the United States district courts 
Chapter XXIV, p. 336^. These courts are held in 
various cities within each district. All witnesses in the 
various courts are required to make oath or affirmation to 
tell " the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth/' Juror- are required to make oath or affirmation 
truly and faithfully to perform their duties to the end that 
justice ma}' be secured. In signing certain legal papers 
similar formalities are required. Any person violating 
such oath or affirmation is guilty of the crime of perjury, 
for which the law provides severe penalties. Jurors 
receive $3 per day for actual service. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Outline the system of state court-. What kind of juris- 
diction has the court of appeal-? the supreme courts? the 

county court ? 

2. Mention three courts in the state having appellate 
jurisdiction; one having original jurisdiction only. 

3. What is the limit in a civil action of the jurisdiction of a 

justice court ? of the county court ? 

4. Give the manner of obtaining other, length of term, 
manner of compensation, and two duties of the county ju< 

5. Mention the term- of the supreme court in this si 
e the number of judicial districts and judicial departmi 

in the si 

6. Describe the appellate division of the supreme court as 

jurisdiction, (2) number, (3) manner of obtaining ofl 

and gth of term of meml- 

7. Describe the hig] irt of this state as to 1 number 

rm, 
ion. 



140 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

8. Compare the judges of the court of appeals with those 
of the United States Supreme Court with reference to (i) num- 
ber, (2) manner of obtaining office, (3) length of term. 

9. Give in substance the provision of the constitution in 
reference to the removal of judges. 

10. In what court of this state would a murderer be tried? 
To what other court might he appeal ? 

11. Write on the court of claims. Is it a law court ? 

12. State the manner of obtaining office, the length of term, 
and the chief duty of a judge of the court of claims. 

13. Mention two duties of the surrogate. 

14. Distinguish between the duties of a grand jury and 
those of a petit jury. Describe the process of selecting these 
jurors and of their finding an indictment. 

15. Give an outline of the method of legal procedure in 
ordinary civil cases. 

16. Give an outline of the method of procedure in criminal 
cases. 



CHAPTER XIII 

STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 

Historical Sketch. From its earliest history the state has 
been interested in the education of its citizens, first as a 
Dutch colony, then as an English colony, and finally as a state. 
The first legislature that met under the constitution, 17.84, 
received a message from the first constitutional governor, 
>rge Clinton, urging the immediate encouragement of the 
schools. Since that date almost every legislature has had 
under consideration some important educational question or 
appropriation. The first step taken by the legislature toward 
the creation of an educational system lor the state was the 
incorporation of the state board of regents in 17S4. Thl 

ars later, at the request of the regents, the legislature 
revised the school law to extend the control of the regents 
to include all the instrumentalities for higher education in 
the state ; and in 1795, through the persuasion of the board, 
the state made a liberal appropriation for the pur] 
establishing :m of common schools. The peopl 

however, unwilling to intrust the management of these com- 
mon schools to the board of regents; and in 1854, after a 
long period of stru. r their management, during which 

thing ver mixing the system, 

it w led that the elementary schools should be admin- 

ndently, and the department of public instru 
don w, d. Thus it came about that the edu< 

until [904, administered by I 
nd quite independent bodies; one the bo 
University of the £ 



142 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

function was to " encourage and promote education in advance 
of the common elementary branches " ; the other the depart- 
ment of public instruction, exercising control over the whole 
elementary-school system. 

Board of Regents. The University of the State of New 
York to-day is a vastly different institution from that contem- 
plated by the legislature granting its charter in 1784, The 
legislature had in mind an ordinary university ; we now find it a 
federation of higher institutions, libraries, museums, and tech- 
nical and professional schools, exercising its authority through 

the commissioner of education over the secondary and ele- 
mentary schools as well. The educational interests are thus 
under the general supervision of the twelve regents, elected 

on joint ballot by the legislature, since the regents cho 

the commissioner of education. The regents have power to 

incorporate, alter, or revoke the charters of universities, col- 
leges, high schools, and aeademies ; to distribute to them state 

funds to which they are entitled; to inspect their workings 

and require annual reports; t<> establish examinations and 
confer certificates and degrees ; to choose- a commissioner of 
education ; to supervise the state library and museum ; and to 
establish extension courses, approve the appointments of the 
commissioner of education, and make rules and regulations 
necessary for carrying out the laws of the state. 

State Commissioner of Education. Under the unification 
law of 1904 the board of regents elects a commissioner of 
education to serve during the pleasure of the board, at a 
salary of Si 2,000 per year, with no allowance for expens 
The education department of the state government is under 
his immediate direction. The commissioner appoints a deputy 
commissioner at a salary of S6000 per war, two assistant 
commissioners at a salary of S5000 each, and a large number 
of chiefs of divisions and other assistants. The department 




Y IRK >1 



. EDI BUTLDINGj A; 

\ Public >c\\>»>- 






'ate Education Bufldi tration of 

found in ncarh 



M3 



144 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

is divided into eleven divisions as follows : administration, 
agriculture, archives, attendance, extension, examinations and 
inspection, law, library school, school buildings, school libra- 
ries, and visual instruction. Each assistant commissioner is 
at the head of a series of schools, as follows : colleges and | 
fessional and technical schools are under the first assistant; 
high schools and academies, under the second assistant ; 
elementary, rural, and normal schools, under the deputy 
commissioner. The commissioner apportions the public- 
school moneys of the state and has power to remove any 
school officer or to revoke any teacher's license for Call 

It is his duty to interpret the school law and decid 

brought up to him on appeal from the decision of lower 
school officials or brought directly to him. 

Supervisory District. Each county of the state, except 

those within the boundaries of New York City, is divided 
into supervisory districts, varying from one to eight. In 
these districts cities and villages having 5000 or more in- 
habitants are not included. In such cities and villages the 
requirement of the state constitution for the provision 
free public schools is met by the terms of their chart 
These villages and cities each constitute a school district 
having a board of education in charge of the schools. The 
board of supervisors in each county is charged with the 
responsibility of dividing the county into supervisory districts. 
In so doing they must not divide a town, and the territory 
of the district must be compact and contiguous. 

District Superintendent. The district superintendent is 
chosen by the school directors of his district, two from each 
town, for a term of five years, at a salary of Si 500 per year, 
with $300 per year for expenses, both sums being paid by the 
state. This amount mav be increased, with the consent of 
the supervisors of the towns of the district, by levying a tax 



STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 145 

upon the towns of the district. The district superintendent's 
term is for five years, and he may be removed by the state 
commissioner of education. Any citizen of the United States, 

twenty-one years of age, a resident of the state, may be chosen 
district superintendent without respect to sex. To qualify 
educationally, the candidate shall hold a certificate to teach in 
any of the public schools of the state without further examina- 
tion, and also shall pass an examination in the supervision 
and teaching of agriculture. He need not be a resident of 
the district at the time of election, but he must become one 
after being chosen. If removed from office, a person be- 
comes ineligible for reelection for a term of five years. The 
district superintendent is the superintendent of all the rural 
schools, and of schools in villages of less than 5000 inhab- 
itants, of his district. He has power to fill vacancies in the 
office of school trustee unless filled as provided by law within 
thirty days, to form new 7 districts, and to change the boundaries 
of old ones. Under the direction of the state commissioner 
of education he may examine and license teachers. He has 
power to condemn schoolhouses and order the residents of 
a district to build new ones. Appeals from his decisions 
are taken to the state commissioner of education. 1 

Compulsory Attendance. Not only has the state provided 
free schools for all its children, but it has made attendance 
compulsory. In this matter the state dictates to the parent 
and protects the rights of the child. Children between the 

1 A state-wide pension for public-school teachers is provided by law. 
To this fund teachers are required to pay one per cent of theil 
The community also is required to pay into this fund an equal sum. \ 
teacher who has taught in public schools twenty- five years, fifteen "t w\ 
have been in this state, may retire and receive- an annuity equal t<» one half 
of his average salary for the last five aid one halt d 

not exceed $600 and he is physically <>r mentally unable to teach. The 
law is administered by a board of five members appointed by I 
commissioner of education. 



146 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

ages of seven and fourteen years who are mentally and physi- 
cally capable of attending school must attend school all of the 
time that school is in session or receive equivalent instruction 
elsewhere. Children from fourteen to fifteen years old who 
have completed the eight years of school may secure a per- 
mit to work if they have attended school at least one hundred 
and thirty days since their fourteenth birthday ; those from 
fifteen to sixteen years old are required to complete only the 
first six years of school. If not legally employed, children 
must be in school until sixteen years old. Permits are granted 
by the health officers upon the signed statement from the 
schools showing that the applicant has met the provisions of 
the law in all particulars. The state furnishes printed forms 
free for use in certifying school records. Attendance offi< 
are appointed to enforce the provisions of the law. It is 
illegal to employ any child without such permit, and parents 
and employers are subject to prosecution and line for evading 
the law. Attendance officers may arrest a truant pupil without 
a warrant. It is the business of the secretary of the school 
census bureau maintained in each city of the state to know 
that every child, parent, and employer complies with the law. 
Compulsory Physical Training. .All children above the 
age of eight years in all the elementary and secondary schools 
of the state, both public and private, must receive physical 
training at least twenty minutes each school day. The board 
of regents determines the course of study and the qualifica- 
tions of teachers. The military commission may recommend 
methods adapted to the development of correct physical pos- 
ture and bearing, mental and physical alertness, self-control, 
disciplined initiative, sense of duty, and spirit of cooperation 
under leadership, but the board of regents is not bound to 
accept such recommendations. For each teacher of physical 
training employed, the state will pay one half of the salary 






STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 147 

up to six hundred dollars. The law applies to country and 
village schools as well as to city schools. 

Compulsory Military Training. Military training is com- 
pulsory for all boys above the age of sixteen and not over 
nineteen years. No boy subject to military training who 
fails to enroll may attend school or secure legal employment. 
This law applies to all public and private secondary schools 
and colleges. The time devoted to military training is not t<> 
exceed three hours per week, and this time is in addition 
to prescribed periods of instruction in both secondary schools 
and colleges. This work is under the direction of the Si 
military training commission. Instructors may be selected 
from competent teachers of physical training in schools or 
colleges if satisfactory to the military-training commission, or 
may be appointed from the national guard or the naval militia. 
For this work additional compensation is granted. Without 
the consent of the board of education school buildings and 
grounds cannot be used for purposes of military training ex- 
cepting in so far as the board of regents incorporate military 
training as a part of the state course of physical training. 

Other State Educational Activities. To encourage boards 
of education to establish courses in vocational and agricul- 
tural instruction, the state pays a I of the salaries 
of teachers employed in this work both in day schools and 
in evening schools. Where there are ten or more mental 
or physical defect: siding within a district, boards of 
education must organize spec;, s and provide instTUC- 

n adapted to their needs. The state encourages health 

education by authorizing boards of education to organize and 

pen-air s anaemic children, t< lish 

and maintain dental clinics, and to employ school nurses and 

medical ins] The state is constantly studying ways "t 

the physical and mental well being of its children. 



148 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Qualification and Training of Teachers. Schools receiving 
state aid must meet the state requirements in the qualifi- 
cation of their teachers. It is illegal to pay state money 
or money raised by local taxation for the support of rural or 
public schools to an unlicensed teacher, and trustees and 
boards of education authorizing such expenditure are person- 
ally liable and may be made to reimburse their communities. 
There are several different kinds of teachers' licenses. For 
the preparation of teachers the state provides a normal col- 
lege at Albany and ten normal schools located as follows : 
Plattsburg, Potsdam, New Paltz, QswegO, Oneonta, Cortland, 
Brockport, Buffalo, Geneseo, and Frcdonia, and is to build the 
eleventh in Westchester county. It also provides training 
schools and training classes in high schools and recognizes 
the work done in college for the training of teachers. 

State Aid to Schools. In addition to the money raised 
by local taxation for the support of the public schools, the 
state makes large appropriations from the general state funds. 
The legislature of 191 5 made the following appropriations: 
for common schools, $5,600,000 ; for cities, academic depart- 
ments, academies, and libraries, $603,500; for normal schools, 
$672,000; for training classes and schools, Si 00,000; for 
salaries of district superintendents, $248,400 ; and for Indian 
education, $14,000. The commissioner of education appor- 
tions the first two items given above as follows : to cities 
and villages having a population of at least 5000 and main- 
taining a superintendent of schools, $800 ; a district quota 
varying from $125 to $200, and a teacher's quota of $100 for 
each teacher employed in any school district, village, or city, 
not counting the first teacher ; $700 to each city or village 
maintaining a training class ; and special quotas for teachers 
of vocational and agricultural studies. The state also pays 
sums toward library books and apparatus equal in amount to 






STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 149 

sums raised by the locality up to a certain limit, and in other 
ways appropriates money to be used for local school purposes. 

State Scholarships. In 1912 the state passed a law estab- 
lishing live scholarships valued at £400 each for each of the 
one hundred and fifty assembly districts of the state. These 
scholarships are awarded by the state commissioner ^i educa- 
tion to the five pupils residing within each assembly district 
who have earned a regents college-entrance diploma and 
whose standings in the regents examinations are the highest 
in their district. The holder of one ^i these scholarships 
may attend any college within the state and receive >ioo per 
year for each of the four years he attends college. In addi- 
tion to the 3000 pupils who thus receive direct aid from the 
state toward their college education, 600 pupils receive free 
tuition at Cornell University under the United States land 

nt act. Pupils attending the State College of Forestry 
at Svracuse University and the State Colle§ vul- 

ture and State Veterinary College at Cornell University, all 
receive free tuition. Tuition is free to pupils residing in 
this state in the state normal college at Albany and in the 
normal schools, all of which are supported by the state. 

Distribution of State Aid. Payment from the state school 
fund is made to the county treasurer of each county, for all 
the schools located in the county, by the state treasurer on the 
warrant of the comptroller or the certificate of the commis- 
sioner of education. The county treasurer turns over to the 
supervisors of the towns the sum of money to which the 
schools of each town are entitled. In cities and villi 
having a population of at least 5000 the county clerk turns 
the money over to the chamberlain or treasurer of the city 
or village, unless there is a irer of the board of 

education provider! in the local charter, and in that case it 
■laced in his care. 



150 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

School Trust Funds. In addition to the money raised by 
local taxation, voted at school meetings, and apportioned by 
city boards, the state has certain trust funds which it manages 
in the interests of the schools. The proceeds from these 
funds are also in excess of the moneys voted by the legisla- 
ture out of the general state funds. These trust funds are 
known as (i) the common-school fund, (2) the United States 
deposit fund, (3) moneys arising from the sale or rental 
of the gospel and school lands, and (4) the literature fund. 
The common-school fund is the result of the sale by the 
state of public lands; the United States deposit fund is the 
state's share of a S30, 000,000 surplus which had accumulated 
in the United States Treasury and which was distributed to 
the states on the basis of population in 1832, to be kept by the 
states until called lor by the federal government; the gospel 
and school-lands fund resulted from an action of the state 
in setting aside in each township one lot for the support 
of the gospel and one for the support of the schools of the 
town ; the literature fund resulted from the sale by the state 
of the unappropriated public lands. 

The Town School District. For a full discussion of the work 
of a common-school district, its officers, powers, duties, etc., 
see Chapter II. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Describe the educational system of New York State. 

2. State the mode of appointment, the length of term, and 
the principal duties of the commissioner of education. 

3 . What are the chief provisions of the compulsory-education law ? 

4. Give the length of term, the salary, and the principal duties 
of a district superintendent of schools. 

5. Should school buildings be used for lectures, musicales, dra- 
matics, and other entertainments for local charities, and meetings for 
civic betterment ? 



CHAPTER XIV 

STATE INSTITUTIONS 

State Agricultural Schools. There arc four agricultural 
schools maintained by the state for the purpose ^\ agri- 
cultural experimentation, giving free instruction in agri- 
culture, industrial arts, and household arts, preparing 
pupils for the more advanced courses in the state 
college of agriculture, and conducting short winter 
courses. The courses o\ instruction differ somewhat in 
the different school-. The four schools arc under the 
direction oi separate boards of trustees ^\ -even or nine 
members, while the state commissioner of agriculture and 
the director of the state college of agriculture are ex 
officio members of each. These schools are located at 
Nforrisville in Madison County, at Cobleskill in Schoharie 
County, at Delhi in Delaware County, and on Long 
Island in Nassau Count}-. 

State College of Agriculture. The State College of Agri- 
culture i- located at Ithaca and forms one of the large 
ip of buildings of Cornell University. Besides the 
;!ar courses, the college conducts a short course of a 
weeks during the winter month- for the special benefit 
of those men and women who are unable t<> attend the r. 
ulai i. A most thorough extension course is main 

tained by the colleg rimenta arc p d and 

exhibits marl- in different parts of the I farm. 

j [cultural fair-, etc, Ih<- college ha- f<»r its 



152 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

use an extensive farm, which deals with practically every 
department of agriculture and animal industry. Instruction 
in this college is free to all students of this state. A two- 
years course in agriculture is also maintained by the state 
at St. Lawrence University at Canton, and at Alfred Uni- 
versity at Alfred. It also maintains an experiment station 
and farm at Geneva. The State College of Forestry is 
located at Syracuse University. The college conducts upon 
land belonging to the state such experiments in forestrj 
are helpful to the state. It plants, raises, cuts, and sells 
trees and timber in order to obtain scientific knowledge 
of the management and care of forests and the production 
of wood crops. 

State Veterinary College. The state maintains at Ithaca 
a veterinary college. It is one of the group of fine build- 
ings which the state has erected at Cornell University. 
The course of instruction is given in cooperation with the 
university. Tuition in this college is free to students 
resident of this state. The diseases of domestic animals 
are here studied and taught in the same manner as are 
the diseases of man in a medical college. The trained 
faculty in charge render great service to the state in in- 
vestigating animal diseases, in diagnosing the infectious 
and other diseases, in prescribing methods for their preven- 
tion, and in many other ways rendering assistance. 

Normal Schools. For the preparation of teachers the 
state supports ten normal schools of equal rank (p. 146). 
Graduation from a normal school entitles one to a life cer- 
tificate to teach in the public schools of the state. A high- 
school diploma representing a four-years course approved 
by the state commissioner of education is required for 
entrance. The state also maintains a normal college at 
Albany for the purpose of giving further preparation to 



STATE INSTITUTIONS 153 

those who wish to take up the more advanced forms of 
teaching. Tuition is free in normal schools and in the 
normal college. Those desiring to enter any of these schools 
obtain an application blank from the principal. 

Schools for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb. The state 
maintains various other schools in whole or in part. A 
most excellent school for the blind is maintained at Batavia, 
and children are here taught academic, manual, and art 
courses much the same as in a regular day school. The 
state also contributes to the support of the New York In- 
stitution for the Blind, the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb 
in New York City, the Le Couteulx Saint Mary's Institu- 
tion for the Improved Instruction of Deaf-mute- at Buffalo, 
the Central New York Institution for the Improved Instruc- 
tion of Deaf-mutes at Rome, the Northern New York 
Institution for Deaf-mutes at Malone, Saint Joseph's In- 
stitution for Deaf-mutes at West Chester, the Albany 
Home for the Deaf, and the Western New York Institution 
at Rochester. Thus it will be seen that the state supple- 
ments the work of the philanthropist in providing for and 
supervising the education of its unfortunate but other- 
wise capable children. 

Hospitals for the Insane. In addition to the work of 
philanthropy outlined in the above paragraph, the state 
maintains thirteen hospitals for the insane, Located as fol- 
lows: Utica, Willard, Hudson, Middletown, Buffalo. Bing- 
hamton, St. Lawrence. Rochester, Gowanda, Kings Park, 

Lonu r Island, Manhattan, and Central [slip. These ! 
pitals are in charge of local boards of managers appointed 
by the governor and confirmed by th te. rhese 

hoard- have genera] direction and control of the property 
and make rule- outlining the duties of officers and em- 
plo- ad a majority of each board is required t<» visit 



154 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

its hospital at least once each month for the purpose of 
making a thorough inspection. The commission in lunacy, 
with the approval of the board of managers, appoints for 
each hospital a superintendent, who must be a " well- 
educated physician, a graduate of an incorporated medi- 
cal college, and who shall have had not less than five 
years' actual experience in an institution for the care of 
the insane." Persons believed to be insane arc arrested 
and examined before a judge by a local commission; if 
found insane they are sentenced by the judge to a hospital 

State Charities. The slate further provides for its less 
fortunate citizens by maintaining an asylum for feeble- 
minded women at Newark, one Eor feeble-minded chil- 
dren at Syracuse, a custodial asylum for idiots at Rome, 
the Craig colony for epileptics at Sonyea, a hospital for 
crippled and deformed children at West Haverstraw, and a 
hospital for cases of incipient pulmonary tuberculosis at 
Ray Brook. These institutions are in charge of board- of 
managers appointed by the governor, usually with the 
consent of the senate. These boards are responsible to the 
state board of charities. The state constitution. Article 
VIII, § n, p. xli, provides that the state board of charities 
shall visit and inspect all institutions within the state, 
which are of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional, or 
reformatory character. Commitments to these institutions 
are made in accordance with state law. 

State Reformatories. One of the great problems of 
the state is to deal justly with those who violate its laws. 
Frequently first offenders, while their offense is serious, will 
never repeat the crime or commit any other. To deal with 
such persons (many of whom are comparatively young in 
years) as with hardened offenders, or to put them into the 
same prisons with seasoned criminals, would be a manifest 



STATE INSTITUTIONS 155 

injustice to the state as well as to the individual. The 
object of criminal law and punishment is the correction 
of the fault in the offender that is to say, the reformation 
of the criminal. If the criminal is reformed, the State is 

protected and life and property became permanently secure. 
If the offender i> not reformed, the -late i- protected just 

so Ioul: as the offender i> locked up. and when he is again 
given his freedom he returns to prey upon life and prop- 
erty. With some such ideal a- this, the state ha- estab- 
lished reformatories at Elmira and Napanoch for nun, 
and at Bedford and Albion for women, an agricultural and 
industrial school for boys at Industry, and one for u r irls 
at Hudson. These institutions are governed by boards 
of managers appointed by the governor, usually with the 
consent of the senate. The executive officer in charge of 
each institution, who is called a superintendent, is assisted 
by a corps of helpers, teacher-, etc. In these reformatories 
schools are maintained and trades are taught, while some 
have farms connected with them. 

State Prisons. In the treatment of our criminal class 
real progress has been made. The cruel and inhuman 
treatment which not infrequently resulted in the death 
of these "wards of the state" ha- in the main passed 

into history. So too has passed the striped prison garb, 

the shaving of one side of the head and face only, and 

ilar badges of degradation. More and more will be 

taught to these people, to many for the firsl time, the 

Lesson that the world owes no one anything but <i chance 

to earn an honest living, to do a day'- work, and n, 

the full fruit- of one's labor. More and more will they 
taught the lesson of economy a- a part of prison life. 
ning there by honesl actual labor a wage which has 

market value, receiving their full pa) I61 such, and with 



156 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

it paying for their clothing, food, and shelter, the bal- 
ance to be placed to their account and turned over to 
them with savings-bank interest when their terms have 
expired, and all to be done while attending excellent 
schools, learning a trade or the elements of a profession. 
Profitable employment under agreeable and healthful con- 
ditions and surroundings will do more to reduce the 
criminal class than all else besides. To accomplish this 
reformation in the criminal and therefore afford permanent 
protection to life and property in lieu of the present plan 
of temporary protection, our criminal classes must be 
placed in the keeping of highly educated humanitarians, 
men and women who have made penology a careful study, 
and who are neither tyrants nor sentimentalists. However, 
while this day is sure to come in the evolution of society, 
it has not yet arrived, and while many steps in the right 
direction have been taken, there is yet a long road to travel. 
At present we have state prisons at Dannemora and Mattca- 
wan for the criminal insane, and regular prisons at Sing 
Sing, Auburn, and Clinton. Each prison is in charge of a 
warden, and there is a resident physician and clergyman. 
The state superintendent of prisons is appointed by the 
governor, as is also the state prison commission of seven 
members. The state maintains a probation commission 
and a board of parole. 

Other State Activities. By no means has the list of the 
state institutions and activities been exhausted. A few 
of the remaining are here mentioned : cancer laboratory 
at Buffalo for the study of this disease ; Indian school at 
Iroquois ; soldiers and sailors home at Bath ; Watkins 
Glen, Niagara Reservation at Niagara Falls, and Fire 
Island state park for pleasure seekers ; national guard 
(militia) ; Onondaga salt springs at Syracuse ; Indian 



STATE DESTITUTIONS 157 

reservations at Allegany, Cattaraugus, Tonawanda, Tus- 
carora, and for the tribe of Onondaga, the tribe 0! the 

St. Regis Indians, and the Seneca nation; state hoard 
of pharmacy, hoard of embalming examiners, water 
supply commission, department (^\ weights and measui 
state printer, canal hoard, and numerous other boards and 
commissions. 

The state also maintain- a nautical school which gi 
practical instruction in navigation and seamanship, ste 
and electrical engineering, a part of which i- given on 
ship Newport. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Upon what grounds is the state justified in educating 
teachers for the public schools at state 1 through normal 
schools ? 

2. What is the object of the state in maintaining an agricultu- 
ral and a veterinary college? 1- this justifiable? 

3. What is the object of sending people t<> prison? 1- the 
object the same in sending people to reformatories? 

4. Give reasons why an unreformed criminal should not be 
given his liberty. Is this an argument against a definite term 
sentence ? 

5. Why should tli' for the criminal insai 
separate institutions for the insane? 1- one reason humani- 
tarian ? 

6. ! -air justified in educating the Mind and other 
ficients? If so, on what grounds? 

7. The federal government pen-ion- all soldiers and Bailors 
who served in the Civil War. who were honorably dischar) 
Why should the stal lisb a home at Bath for our soldien 
and sailors of the Civil War? 1 1 illy. 



158 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 

Resolved: That a farm of at least 500 acres and a school of 
agriculture and mechanic arts shall form a part of the equip- 
ment of all state prisons and reformatories, in which the prisoners 
may receive instruction and perform all manual labor connected 
therewith. 

Resolved: That the state will be better served by a biennial 
session of the legislature limited to ninety days. 

Resolved: That a tax of not less than one per cent upon the 
gross earnings of corporations operating within the state should 
be paid into the state treasury for the support of the state 
government. 

Resolved: That a graduated inheritance tax should be placed 

upon all estates above $100,000 as follows: from $100,000 to 
$500,000, five per cent ; from $500,000 to $1,000,000, ten per- 
cent ; from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, twenty per cent, and fifty 
per cent for all estates exceeding $2,000,000; the funds thus 
obtained to be used equally in defraying the expenses of the 
state government, the improvement of prison facilities, good 
roads, public schools, and colleger. 



CHAPTER XV 
SUFFRAGE: HOW AND WHEN EXERCISED 

Citizenship. Citizenship in a state depends upon citizen- 
ship in the United States. All persons born or naturalized 
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein 
they reside, as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment to 
the federal constitution. Any foreigner, twenty-one yi 
of age, a male, may become a naturalized citizen of the 
United States, (i) by living five years in the United Stairs 
continuously, one of which years must be lived in the state 
where naturalization is sought; (2) by making oath before 
a court of record (a court having a clerk and seal), at K -1 
two years before being admitted to citizenship, that it is 
his intention to become a citizen and to renounce forever his 
allegiance to any foreign State or ruler and all title- or 
orders of nobility which he may possess; 5 by makiie 
formal petition in due form; and \ by making oath to 
support the constitution of the United States. In addi- 
tion to all this the judge granting the certificate of , itizen- 
ship mus! be convinced by at least two witnesses that the 
applicant i- desirable and a believer in the principle of 
eminent a- outlined in the federal constitution. 

Suffrage a Privilege. The right t<> vote is ool personal, 
belonging to every citizen. The right t( » vote is purely 
political, wholly within the power of the state to 
withhold from any class of citizens. The United 



160 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

constitution establishes a uniform standard for citizenship, 
but each state regulates the matter of voting, and therefore 
we have as great variety of requirements for voting as the 
several states exhibit in other matters of legislation. If 
it is true that " every fault of popular government has 
its origin in the fault of the voter/' then it is only by the 
expression of right character through the ballot from the 
primary to the last vote for president that " liberty, whose 
unvarying price is eternal vigilance," can be maintained. 
In early colonial days in New England the right to vote 
was extended to church members only; later the right 
was extended to all property owners; and still later, to 
all white male citizens over twenty-one years of age. 
Several states have extended to women the right to vote 
on equal terms with men. ' The safeguarding of the ballot 
is historic and right. In the hands of the vieious and 
ignorant it is a weapon for the destruction of human 
liberty; in the hands of the thoughtful and patriotic, it is 
the cure-all for most of the ills to which government is 
heir. Each year it becomes more of an honor to be an 
American citizen, and each year we should do our part 
toward making our inheritance better. 

Who may Vote. Any man or woman at least twenty-one 
years of age, unconvicted of bribery or other infamous crime, 
who has been a citizen of the United States for ninety 
days, a resident of the state for one year, of the county 
for four months, and of the election district for thirty days 
next preceding an election, may vote for any elective officer. 
A duly qualified voter may vote for all officers directly 
chosen by the people — national, state, county, town, city. 
If for any reason, such as a change of residence, he loses 
his right to vote for any, he does for all. Students, sol- 
diers, sailors, travelers, etc. do not lose their right to vote 



SUFFRAGE: HOW AND WHEN EXERCISED l6l 

because of their occupation, and may return to their homes 
just before any election and vote. 

Party Government Recognized. A political party ifl a 
group of persons who hold the same general opinions upon 
public questions and matters of administration generally. 
Hence organization for the purpose of putting those beliefs 
into practice. We shall always have political parties. 
The state recognizes and to a considerable extent regulates 
them. The state law provides that every political organ- 
ization casting a certain number of votes for governor (at 
present 10,000) shall be known as a political party. The 
state also provides l that the enrollment of part}- voters -hall 
take place under the direction of the public inspectors of 
election, at the times and places provided for the registra- 
tion of voters for the public elections. Party primaries, to 
insure fairness, are also conducted under the direction of 
the same public inspectors. In order to prevent fraud at 
elections, all qualified voters residing in cities and villages 
of 5000 or more inhabitants are required to appear in 
person and register, that is, give their names and address 
in full. These are written down in a book, each party 
keeping a correct copy. In rural districts registry lists 
are made out without requiring each voter to appear in 
person. For town and village elections no registration is 
required, unless these elections fall at the time of the gen- 
eral elections. Party workers see to it that their members 
attend to registration. 

Elective Officers and Election Districts. For election 
purposes the state is divided into about 4000 primary dis- 
tricts. Sometimes these districts are created solely for 
election purposes; sometimes divisions already existing for 
other purposes are used also a- election distri< ts. Certain 
1 Sec " El ditioo <>f 



1 62 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

officers are elected by the people of the whole state, so that 
for this election the whole state may be said to form a 
single election district. Officers thus chosen are the gov- 
ernor, lieutenant governor, comptroller, attorney-general, 
secretary of state, treasurer, state engineer and surveyor, 
and judges of the court of appeals. The largest election 
districts within the state are the judicial districts, nine in 
number, for the election of supreme-court justices (sec map, 
p. 105). In addition to these there are forty-three congl 
sional districts for the election of members of Congr< 
map, p. 105), fifty-one senatorial districts for the election 
of state senators (see map, p. 87), one hundred and fifty 
assembly districts for the election of assemblymen (see ma]), 
p. 87), two hundred seven supervisory districts for schools, 
and about 10,592 common-school districts. There are also 
sixty-two counties in the state, which form election districts 
for the election of county officers, and which are subdivided 
into towns, or into towns, villages, and cities, each with its 
own officers to elect. Not all of these officers are voted 
for at any single election. 

Time of Elections. Congress has fixed by federal law 
that the time for choosing members of Congress in all 
states shall be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November of the even-numbered years (see Chapter XIX, 
p. 210), and this date has been adopted by the state for 
the general state election held annually. At this election 
are chosen, whenever necessary to fill offices about to 
become vacant, state and county officers, state senators 
and assemblymen, judges of the supreme court and of 
the court of appeals, members of Congress, and presi- 
dential electors. Town, city, and village elections are held 
separately. Town officers are chosen at town meetings 
(pp. 17-25), which are required by law to be held the first 



SUFFRAGE: HOW AND WHEN EXERCISED 163 

Tuesday in February, unless the board oi supervisors shall 
change the time. 1 Cities oi the first and second classes 

are required to hold their election in the odd-numbered 
years, at the time of the general election in November, 
the object being to separate municipal from -tale and 
national elections. Cities oi the third class and villa) 
usually elect their officers at a separate election in the 
spring, although some cities oi the third class have se- 
cured special legislation permitting them to hold their 
charter elections in November. 

Election Expenses. A party's campaign fund i> derived 
from voluntary contributions, which ought to be made only 
for patriotic reasons. Candidates and parties may incur 
legitimate expenses — for example, traveling, telephone, tele- 
graph, and messenger service, the distribution of circui 
the holding of public meetings. Large sums have been 
corruptly raised and corruptly spent in determining elec- 
tions. To check this evil the law now applies the remedy 
of publicity by requiring that all candidate-, except 
for town and village office.-, shall make statements oi 
their election expenses; and that the treasurer of each 
political committee shall likewise make a statement of 
campaign receipts and expenditure-. These Statements 
are tiled with the secretary of state and are open to 
public inspection. Publicity tend- to correct evils ^i this 
nature. 

The Convention Plan of Choosing Candidates. The 

avention a of choosing candidates for political 

offi' discontinued by the passage of the primary 

election law of [911. Until then the voters in each 

' t it al party met in a caucus in each election district 

and selected certain of their number to represent the 

p. 4089. 



1 64 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

district in a convention of their party, where candidates to 
be voted for at the November election were chosen. For 
each political party there was a series of these conven- 
tions, — county, assembly, state senate, judicial, con- 
gressional, and the whole state, — each charged with 
the responsibility of selecting the party's candidates for 
the district concerned. It was thought that this plan 
would result in a choice of stronger men than would be 
the case if the choice were left to the less deliberative mass 
of voters, and that this plan placed responsibility for 
party success or failure, and for defining the real issues 
of the campaign. The disadvantages of the convention 
plan were that a small body of men could be more easily 
influenced by corrupt agencies; that the individual voter 
should not be relieved of his responsibility in the choice of 
candidates; and that no person should, as frequently 
happened under the plan, be denied the privilege of 
becoming a candidate within his party for any office for 
which he considered himself fit. 

The Primary Plan of Choosing Candidates. All can- 
didates for office are nominated in the primary election 
(except independent nominations by petition). To se- 
cure one's name on the primary ballot it is first necessary 
to secure a blank form from the commissioners of election 
and obtain the required number of signatures of voters of 
the party. This done, the name is placed upon the pri- 
mary ballot, together with the names of all other candidates 
for the same office in the same party. 1 There is but one 
primary election, in which all parties participate. To dis- 
tinguish the different parties in this primary a different- 
colored ballot is used for each, the color being designated 
by the secretary of state. From the list of candidates the 

1 For sample primary ballot, see p. 169. 



SUFFRAGE: HOW AND WHEN EXERCISED 165 

voter indicates his choice by making a cross (X) with 

a black-lead pencil opposite one name for each office. 
Those receiving the largest vote in the primary become 
the candidates of their party. Nomination by petition 
occurs whenever the party interested is not satisfied with 
the results of the primary election. In order to secure a 
nomination independent of all parties, the candidate must 
secure the signatures of at least five per cent o\ the voters, 
and designate an emblem to be printed before his name. 
His name is then placed upon the ballot, winch goes before 
the voters at the general election, with the names of th 
nominated at the primary. 

Importance of the Primary. No scheme of government 
is any better or stronger than the men chosen to (any it 
into effect. One plan may be better than another, but 
any plan will result in good government if the men chosen 
to administer it are trustworthy and capable; and any 
form of government, however excellent, will result unsatis- 
factorily to the people without such nun to administer it. 
Therefore the voter's greatest responsibility in the cause 
of good government is the faithful performance of his duty 
in the selection of strong and capable men a- candid. 
for office through the primary. Remaining away from 
tlu- general election does the cause oJ good government 

- harm than remaining away from the primary. 1> 
riminating in the matter of signing nominatin 
dons, and by a careful study of the men finally plaeed upon 
the primary ballot, the individual voter has it completely 
within his power to determine the kind of men we -hall 
have f<»r the administration of our affairs in l< 

! national L r < .wrnment . Whether we -hall have hoi 

dent public officials or the oppo quarely up 

to the individual voter. 



1 66 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Supervision of Elections. The election machinery of 
the state is under the supervision of three superintendents 
of election (see footnote, p. 122). These state superin- 
tendents are assisted by three chief deputies and by 
four hundred deputies of their own choosing, scattered 
throughout the state, and by a host of lesser officials. 
Prior to 191 1 the county clerk had charge of all election 
matters within the county. The present law provides for 
an election board of from two to four commissioners, 
chosen by the board of supervisors (in New York City 
by the board of aldermen) from different political parties, 
at salaries of from Siooo to S5000 according to the popu- 
lation of the county, except in Xew York City, where the 
salary is $5000 per year. This election board has charge 
of all local election matters, subject to the state superin- 
tendents of election. The town board (see p. 24) appoints 
four inspectors of election in each district from the same 
political parties represented by the commissioners of elec- 
tion. These inspectors choose two poll clerks and two ballot 
clerks, one of each from the political parties which they 
represent. In New York City all appointments are made 
by the board of elections; in other cities, by the mayors. 

How to Register. In cities and villages of 5000 or more 
inhabitants the individual voter must appear in person 
before the board of inspectors of election on the days 
for registration, and establish the facts mentioned in p. 160. 
In villages of less than 5000 inhabitants and in rural dis- 
tricts, those whose names appear upon the last election roll, 
and those whom the inspectors know to have become voters 
since the last election (for example, young men becoming 
twenty-one years old), may be duly registered for the coming 
election without appearing before the board of inspectors. 
All others must appear in person. Each registered voter 



SUFFRAGE: HOW AND WHEN EXERCISED 167 

is qualified to vote in the primary election for the nomina- 
tion of candidates for the various offices to represent the 
political party oi his choice in the coming general election ; 
and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in Novem- 
ber he presents himself at the polling place in his district, 
where he will be asked his name and address and will he 
required to write his name in the poll hook (the hook in 
which the record of those voting is kept) ; then, if every- 
thing appears to be all right, he is allowed to pass behind 
the curtain of the voting machine, or into tin- voting 
booth if a machine is not used. 

Voting by Ballot. All officers are chosen by ballot or 
by some method of secret voting, unless the law specifies 
to the contrary. The usual methods of voting are by 
means of the Australian ballot or of the voting machine. 
The voting places, or polls, are in charge of local officers 
known as inspectors of election. Where the Australian 
ballot is used, the voter is given a single ballot, or sheet of 
paper, upon which are printed the names of all the candi- 
dates who have been duly nominated. These name- arc 
arranged in successive columns according to l! .< to 

be filled. Each name is preceded by the party emblem 
and a blank square, and followed by the name of the party. 
The voter take-- this ballot to a booth (a -mall room), 
and there makes a cross with a " pencil having bl; 
lead " ] in the square before the name- of each person for 
whom lie wishes to vote. Finally, if the v to 

vote- for candidates whose name- do not appear upon the 
ballot, a blank in each column, where he can write 
their name>. is provided for the purpose. When h< ! 
marked his ballot, he return- it. properly folded, to the 

inspector, who &rsl tears off the stub and then d< 



168 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the voted ballot in one box, the stub in another. The 
stub of the ballot has the same number as the name of 
the voter on the poll list ; the ballot itself is not numbered. 
When a man has voted, his name is checked off from the 
registration list by the poll clerks. 

Voting by the Machine. The method of voting by the 
machine is very similar to that of voting by ballot. The 
voter enters a booth, which is a part of the machine. 
The face of the machine bears the names of the candidates to 
be voted for, arranged in parallel columns according to their 
respective political parlies. Beside each name is a small 
lever. The voter pulls down the levers opposite the names 
until they point to the names of the candidates who repre- 
sent his choice. If he wishes to vote for candidates whose 
names do not appear, blanks are provided on which he may 
write their names. By an ingenious mechanism the pull- 
ing down of one lever locks all others for that office, 
that it is impossible to vote for more than one candidate 
for the same office. Upon the voter's Leaving the booth, 
the machine registers his vote and the total vote, and - 
all levers for the next voter. 

The Counting. All voting must cease at five o'clock, 
and the votes must be counted by the inspectors, the room 
remaining open to the public meanwhile. The chairman of 
the board of inspectors immediately announces the result 
publicly, after which are made three certified copies, specify- 
ing the number of votes cast for each county officer and 
each state officer. 1 One of these certificates is sent to the 
supervisor, one to the town or city clerk, and one to the 
county clerk, together with the stubs and the unvoted 

1 No certificates are made for town, city, village, or school elections held 
at a different time from the general election. New York City acts under 
special law. 



i. To vote for a candidate on this ballot make a cio>s X in. irk in one oi the iquar 
the place ai the left oi his name. 

2. To vote for a candidate not on this ballot write his name in i blank tpace under the 
candidates for that office. 

; Mark Wily with a pencil having black lead. 

4. Any ether mark, erasure or tear on the ballot .etuiers it void. 

5. If v . tear, or deface, or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and obtain another. 



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Mlil.R. 1914 






170 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

ballots. After six months the voted ballots are destroyed. 
The supervisors of the county meet as a county board of 
canvassers on the Tuesday immediately following election, 
and ascertain, from the reports sent in by the towns, who 
have been elected to county offices and the vote of the 
county for state offices. The supervisors make three 
certificates stating the results of the returns from their 
counting, and send one to the governor, one to the secretary 
of state, and one to the comptroller. The secretary of 
state summons the attorney-general, the state treasurer, 
the comptroller, and the slate engineer and surveyor to 
meet him in Albany on or before December 15. This 
body constitutes the state board of canvassers. At this 
meeting the county returns are gone over and the result of 
the voting for state officers is officially announced. A 
plurality only is necessary for election to any office. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Who are qualified to vote in this state? 

2. Give the constitutional qualifications ^\ a voter, and show 
the importance of these qualifications. 

3. What are the essential provisions of the constitution id 

regard to bribery of voters and bets on the result ^\ an election? 

4. Give the substance oi the provision o\ the constitution re- 
garding registration of voters. Give the reason for this provision. 

5. When is the general election held in this state? Mention 
the chief provisions for securing an honest ballot. 

6. What national and state officers will be chosen in the 
coming November election? Give the complete list. 

7. Describe the process of choosing a governor, from the 
primary to the final result. 

8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the present 
mode of voting in this state over that which formerly prevailed ? 



CHAPTER XVI 
STATE FINANCES 

State Budget. It will be seen, from a study of the activi- 
ties of the state, the various administrative departments, 
boards, and commissions, that the state is very much in need 
of funds. From an estimate furnished by each of th 
departments the legislature determines the amount of money 
needed to conduct the state's business for the year. This 
is called a budget, and the appropriations bill specifies In 
detail the amount of salaries, traveling expenses, furniture, 
general maintenance, etc., concerning the state departments 
and institutions. This bill is enacted into law. 

Sources of Revenue. The state has various sources of 
revenue. The principal sources (in 1915 1 ) and their relative 
values, are taxes upon corporation-, amounting to $] [,634,- 
000. 84 ; upon inheritance, amounting to $11, i [o; 

liquor tax. amounting to $9, 360,099. 3 1 ; stock-transfer ; 
amounting to $2,056,687.00; mortgage tax, amounting to 
$1,390,746.98; and the tax on motor vehicles, amounting 

20.73. All property may be taxed by the s< 
unless exempted by state law, but for several years th 
has been practically no direct state property tax other than 
that which is required to meet the state debt. New York's 

ition make- it a very desirable base for 
tivity. and since these corporations enjoj protection and 

1 Sec L Manual, [91 J edition, p. 711. 

1 7 l 



172 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

benefits from the state laws, the state feels that they should 
contribute to the expenses of the government. It should be 
understood, however, that such payment of legitimate taxes 
is not to give such corporations any advantage in admin- 
istrative or legislative matters. 

Apportionment of Taxes. After the state has decided 
upon the amount needed for the year, and the county 
equalization of assessed valuation has been completed by 
the state board of equalization, the comptroller apportions 
to each county its share of the state tax and certifies the 
same to the board of supervisors in each county. The 
board of supervisors has previously acted as a county 
board of equalization in equalizing the assessed valuation 

of each town. To the state tax i> added the necessary 
county tax, which total tax i> divided among the towns 
and cities. To the town's or city's share oi the state 
and county tax is added the town or city tax, and this 
grand total is the sum to be raised. The total assessed 
valuation of property forms the base, the tax to be raised 
forms the percentage; dividing the percentage by the 1' 
gives the rate of the taxation, or the sum to multiply each 
person's assessment by to determine the amount of his 
tax. When the total tax is collected, the superintendents 
of highways receive the moneys voted for the improvement 
of roads and bridges, the superintendent of the poor the 
moneys voted for the care of the poor, the supervisor the 
money for the town expenses, the city treasurer the money 
for the city government, and the balance is turned over 
to the county treasurer. The county treasurer pays over 
to the comptroller the state's share of the money thus 
received, and from the county's share such charges against 
the county as have been duly authorized. The comptroller 
and the county treasurer may sell real property on which 



STATE FINANCES [73 

the taxes are unpaid, and the local authorities Id cities 

may do the same for the collection oi unpaid city taxes. 
If the delinquents pay their taxi'- and the costs involved 
in the sale, they may recover their property. 

Tax Districts. The state is divided into tax districts, 
which are usually the same as a town or city as to terri- 
tory. In each of these districts three assessors are elected 
by the people if the district is a town, and are cither 
elected or appointed in a city. These assessors place a 
value upon all real property (houses and lands), and 
upon all personal property (that is, movable property) if 
the amount can be ascertained. This valuation is entered 
in a book opposite the owners name, and the resulting list 
of names and property values constitutes the assessment 
roll. If any person is dissatisfied with the value assigned 
his property, he may appear before the assessors on gri 
anec day, a day set for the purpose of adjusting differences, 
and try to get a satisfactory valuation by swearing off 
his assessment; that is, by making oath that he ha- been 
overassessed. If he cannot get satisfaction in this manner, 
he may appeal to the board of supervisors for their decision. 
The assessment roll, w T hen completed, is sent to the town 
or city clerk. When the board of supervisors meet- in 
annual session, the assessment roll of each tax district i> 
taken before it and carefully examined. When examining 
the assessment rolls, the board of supervisors 
county board of equalization and has power to change the 

Jessed valuation of the real property of any tax distri< 1. 
with a view to producing a jusl relation of menl in 

the several districts. The board ha-, however, no 
thority to change the total assessment of the county. In 
much the same manner the state hoard of equalization m< 
annually at Albany to adjust the balance betw< 



174 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

assessments, working from data furnished by the state 
tax commissioners, who are in a way state assessors. 

Tax Defined. A tax is a sum of money or definite service 
lawfully taken from the people by the federal, state, county, 
or local government for its support. This right of the 
state is called eminent domain, which means that the state 
reserves to itself the right to appropriate private property 
for the public good after giving a just compensation. In- 
asmuch as we choose the officers who levy our taxes, and 
since we determine the kind of government we want and 
the officers to administer it, we ought cheerfully to pay our 
taxes, which is a kind of insurance paid for the security of 
our persons, our property, and our education. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. How is the state budget made up? How is it authorized? 

2. Mention the source n\ the state's revenues for current 
expenses. How are taxes distributed after collection? 

3. For what purpose does the state lay a direct property 
tax? May it lay a property tax for current expenses of govern- 
ment? 

4. After the state budget lias been determined, who deter- 
mines what each county's share is? To whom (\ov> he report? 

5. How is the tax rate determined? What is a tax? 

6. What is a tax district ? Why are taxes necessary? 

7. What are the duties of the state board of equalization? 
of the county board of equalization By what other name 
is the county board called when doing other work? 



STATE FINANCES 



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PART III. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 
CHAPTER XVII 

THE CONSTITUTION: ITS FORMATION AND ADOPTION 

Condition of Affairs under the Articles of Confederation. 
The course of events from 1781 to 17S7 proved the impos- 
sibility of government under the articles. So long as the 
war lasted, the slates could not help seeing that their only 
safety lay in union, and they were following the dictates of 
the merest self-interest in sending to Congress their ablest 
men and in granting to that body, however grudgingly, the 
necessary means for conducting the government. As the 
fierceness of the struggle abated, however, the necessity for 
union was no longer so keenly felt. State interests loomed 
larger and larger; federal interests dwindled. The most 
distinguished statesmen no longer sat in the federal leg- 
islature ; their talents were demanded at home for the 
solution of difficult problems of state government ; so 
that the national legislature, given by the Articles of 
Confederation no means of providing for its own needs and 
left wholly dependent upon the good will of the states, 
soon found itself deprived of even such power of persuad- 
ing the states as it had possessed through the pressure of 
the war and the personal influence of its members. 

Attitude of the States. Gradually the states, having 
withdrawn from the service of the federal government its 

176 






178 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

best ability, assumed toward it, if not an attitude of actual 
defiance, at best one of distrust or indifference. More than 
once, whether through indifference or a more active senti- 
ment, they made it impossible for Congress to proceed to 
business at the proper time by failing to send delegates from 
enough states to transact important business or to settle 
important questions. National appeals for money many 
of the states simply disregarded, so that between 1782 and 
1786 Congress obtained only about one sixth of the amount 
asked for. Threats of secession were heard from more 
than one quarter, and even overt acts of defiance were not 
unknown. 

The Feeling between the States was no belter than that 
between the national government and the states. Ques- 
tions of trade involved them in continual quarrels. New 
England sought to secure a virtual monopoly of the carry- 
ing trade by demanding the exclusion of British vessels — a 
demand to which the Southern states would not accede. 
States without seaports were forced to pay tolls to their 
more fortunate neighbors through whose ports their goods 
were received. Interstate tariffs grew up wherever con- 
ditions favored them, and tariff wars provided a constant 
source of irritation. Between the East and the West, also, 
there was a clash of interests. The East desired com- 
mercial intercourse with Spain and the Spanish colonies, 
which that country was willing to grant in return for the 
surrender by the United States of the right to free naviga- 
tion of the Mississippi, which now flowed for two hundred 
miles through Spanish territory ; and a considerable por- 
tion of Congress was willing to negotiate a treaty on this 
basis. To this surrender, however, the people of the West, 
particularly those of Kentucky and what is now Ten- 
nessee, were unalterably and vehemently opposed. Bitter 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 179 

discussion between East and West followed, and threats of 
secession were heard on both sides ; but the project was 
finally abandoned. Even within the states troubles were 
rife. Financial distress, which large issues of paper money 
had only intensified, was everywhere apparent, and was 
leading in some cases to armed rebellion on the part of the 
debtor class. 

The General Government Helpless. Meantime the gen- 
eral government, compelled to stand helplessly by, alike 
incapable of relieving the internal distress of the states, of 
adjusting interstate disputes, or of extricating the nation 
from its difficulties, was regarded by foreign nations with 
scorn or indifference. It was not without justification 
that the French minister wrote, in 1784, that there was no 
general government in the country ; nor was it strange 
that the commission appointed that year to conclude 
treaties with foreign nations, and consisting of men so 
able and persuasive as John Adams, Franklin, and Jeffer- 
son, should have been able to induce only one foreign coun- 
try to enter into treaty relations with the Confederation. 
By 17S6 the feeling had become general that nothing 
short of a thoroughgoing revision and amendment of 
the Articles of Confederation could remedy the existing 
evils. 

Suggestions for Amendment. The suggestion that the 
articles be amended was by no mean- new. In 1781, even 
ore all the Mate- had ratified them, it had been pro- 
posed thai I — should be given power to raise revenue 
by levying import duties to the extent of five per cent ad 

valorem. The proposition was dis< ussed for a year, but was 
finally 1 I by the refusal of Rhode bland to agree to 

the arrangement. In 1783 the projeel was revived and a 

similar proposition was made, but with more limitations 



180 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

upon Congress, only to meet defeat again, this time at 
the hands of New York. Two years later Massachusetts 
instructed her delegates in Congress to propose a general 
revision of the articles ; but nothing came of this 
suggestion, and the convention which finally met for that 
purpose in 1787, and ended by framing an entirely new 
constitution, originated in a different way. 

Origin of the Constitutional Convention. The Constitu- 
tional Convention grew out of an attempt on the part of 
a few of the states to reach some sort of agreement in com- 
mercial matters. In 1785 a commission from Maryland 
and Virginia met at Alexandria for the purpose of adjust- 
ing, if possible, the differences between those States in 
regard to the navigation of the Potomac River and the 
Chesapeake Bay. Before the commission broke up, the 
Virginia delegates proposed that a similar commission, 
composed of delegates from all the states, should meet at 
Annapolis for the purpose of discussing trade relations 
throughout the country. The proposition was favorably 
received, and the following year, 1786, occurred the An- 
napolis Convention. 

The Annapolis Convention. When the delegates as- 
sembled at the appointed time, it was found that repre- 
sentatives were present from live states only, though a few 
others were on the way. With so incomplete a represen- 
tation of the Confederation it was useless to attempt to 
proceed with the business for which the convention had 
been summoned, but such discussions as occurred revealed 
the existence of a general sentiment in favor of the revision 
of the Articles of Confederation. Accordingly, without 
awaiting the arrival of the tardy delegates, those present, 
before adjourning, passed a resolution recommending a con- 
vention of delegates from all the states " to devise such 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AXD ADOPTION 1S1 

further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to 
render the constitution of the federal government ade- 
quate to the exigencies of the union" This resolution was 
transmitted to Congress and to the state legislatures, but 
it was not until five states had already appointed delegates 
to the new convention that Congress approved it and 
recommended its adoption by the states. Thereupon the 
rest of the states, with the exception of Rhode Island, 
promptly adopted the recommendation of Congress and 
appointed their delegates. 

The Constitutional Convention. The fourteenth of May, 
;. had been fixed upon as the day and Philadelphia as 
the place of meeting for the new convention, but it was not 
until May 25 that delegates had arrived from a sufficient 
number of states to -enable the convention to organize for 
its work, and two months more elapsed before all of the 
twelve states that fmally sent delegates were represented. 
Rhode Island alone took no part in the convention. In 
that state the governor and the upper house of the legis- 
lature were in favor of sending delegates ; but the assembly, 
made up largely of men without education and of narrow 
political views, who were, moreover, fearful of the effect of 
the convention upon their financial policy of wiping out 
all debt- by means of paper money, refused to send repre- 
sentatives The convention as fmally constituted con- 
•f fifty-five members, among them the ablest and 
listinguished statesmen of the time. Together 
they made up a body that has rarely been equaled in 
inti [( ability, patriotism, and political sagacity. 

A- has nearly always happened in the case of political 
at critical juncture- in our history, the 
trongly representative of the wisely con- 

lement in the country. Nb true patriot could 



1 82 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

have anything to fear in intrusting his political interests 
to such men as figured most prominently in the proceed- 
ings of the convention. 

Influence of Washington. Easily foremost, of course, 
was Washington, president of the convention, cautious, 
sagacious, rich in experience, utterly free from local preju- 
dice. His position as presiding officer naturally precluded 
his taking part in the debates, but it has been said of him 
that through the power of his personality lie had the 
greatest influence on the total result of any man in the 
convention. Unquestionably the fail that he approved 
the Constitution a>si>tcd in no small degree in securing 
for it the ratification of otherwise doubtful stab 

Hamilton and Madison. Of those who engaged actively 
in the debates of the convention the two most prominent 
and almost equally influential characters were Hamilton 
and Madison. In spite of the fact that they wen- young 
men (Hamilton was but thirty, and Madison >i\ years 
older), both had ahead)- rendered political service as 
members of Congress, and Hamilton had been one of 
the delegates to the Annapolis Convention. Hamilton's 
keen insight into the principles of government, combined 
with a remarkable 4 power o\ logical, straightforward reason- 
ing, stood him in good stead in the debates o\ the conven- 
tion. His greatest service in the work of that body was 
his successful insistence upon the absolute necessity of 
creating an efficient national government, even though it 
might involve a very considerable curtailment of the 
powers of the states. Madison was even more active, if 
not more influential, in the convention than his colleague. 
He was one of the few, destined finally to become the 
majority, who believed that no satisfactory amendment 
of the Articles of Confederation was possible, and that the 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 183 

only thing to do was to throw them overboard and frame 
a new Constitution. To this proposition it was objected, 
reasonably enough, that the assembly, in acting upon it, 
would be exceeding its authority, since it had been given 
power only to revise the Articles of Confederation ; and in 
furnishing convincing answers to objections of this type 
he rendered most efficient service. It was Madison, also, 
who drafted the scheme of government known as the 
Virginia Plan, which was to become the basis of the Con- 
stitution as it was finally adopted. Nor did the work of 
these two young men end with the adjournment of the 
convention. Through the series of political essays known 
as The Federalist, written for the purpose of explaining 
and defending the Constitution after it had been submitted 
to the people for ratification, they did yeomen's service 
in securing its adoption. 

Franklin. Scarcely inferior in influence, though much 
less active in debate, was the venerable Franklin, now in 
his eighty-second year. For half a century he had had 
intimate knowledge of public affairs ; for a quarter of a 
century he had represented his country, or a portion of 
it, at foreign capitals. Twice had he drafted a plan of 
union and a scheme of government for the colonies (neither 
of them, to be sure, destined to be put into operation) : 
one the plan adopted by the Albany Convention in 1754, 
but rejected by the colonies ; the other the scheme con- 
sidered by the Continental Congress a year before the 
Articles of Confederation were drafted, but never acted 
upon. It was his particular task in the convention to pour 
oil on the troubled waters. When the debate became too 
bitter or too pergonal, his ready wit restored everybody to 
d humor, and more than once his tact prevented differ- 
- of opinion from becoming irreconcilable disputes. 



1 84 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Other Prominent Delegates. Among other prominent 
delegates present were George Mason and Edmund Ran- 
dolph of Virginia ; John Dickinson of Delaware ; James 
Wilson, Robert and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, 
to the last of whom the Constitution mainly owes the 
admirable clearness and simplicity of its language, which 
has made the work of interpretation so much easier and 
surer; Roger Sherman of Connecticut, who had been a 
member of nearly every Congress ; Elbridge Gerry of 
Massachusetts; Rufus King of New York, the author of 
the prohibition on the states to pass laws impairing the 
obligation of contracts 1 ; Paterson of New Jer>ey (after- 
ward governor, 1791-1793) ; and the two Pinckneys and 
John Rutledge of South Carolina. These were the most 
distinguished members of the assembly, but all were men 
of ability and experience. Of the fifty-five present, eighteen 
were at the same time members of Congress, and there 
were only twelve who had not at some time sat in that body. 

Work of the Convention. The convention organized tor 
work May 27, and from this date its work proceeded with- 
out interruption for four months, daily sessions being held 
until the seventeenth of September, when the engrossed 
copy was signed and the convention finally adjourned. 
The work throughout was carried on behind closed doors 
— wisely, since, had the questions under discussion been 
known, the pressure of public opinion upon the delegates 
would probably have made agreement impossible. It was 
not until long afterwards, when the very full notes of the 
debates of the convention, kept by Madison, were printed, 
that the difficulties it had surmounted became known. 

Difficulty of the Task. In some respects the task before 
the framers of the Constitution was peculiarly difficult. 

1 See Article I, § 10, ^ 1, page lx. 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 185 

" The establishment of a constitution in a time of profound 
peace, by the voluntary consent of a whole people, is a 
prodigy, to the completion of which I look forward with 
trembling anxiety," wrote Hamilton; and many of his 
contemporaries shared his feeling. In the first place, there 
had been no overwhelming public sentiment in favor of 
the calling of the convention, nor was there any profound 
belief that it would accomplish anything. Then, too, 
within the convention itself there was a strong feeling that 
it had no power beyond that of revising the Articles of 
Confederation; and not a little argument was needed to 
induce the assembly to undertake the framing of a new 
constitution. That question once decided, the convention 
found itself face to face with a peculiar condition of affairs. 
Its task was not the comparatively simple one of devising 
a scheme of government for a single unitary state, in which 
the central government should be the source of power for 
all minor political divisions ; nor had it, on the other hand, 
to deal with a simple confederation, in which the com- 
ponent states were still sovereign and independent, with 
full power at any time to withdraw from the union. 

The course of events during the Revolution had un- 
doubtedly established a nation with a life of its own ; yet it 
had left the integrity of the states untouched. The states 
were still free political agents, however strongly public ne- 
cessity might urge them to form a national union. " We were 
neither the same nation nor different nations/' said Gerry. 
In short, the task before the convention was that of fram- 
ing a constitution for the first great federal state in history. 
Jusl how this was to be done no one saw clearly at the 
opening of the convention. Among the members of the 
assembly the most diverse opinions were held as to what 
should be the character of the new government. Not a 



1 86 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

few contended for the maintenance of the existing form of 
government with only such revision of the Articles of Con- 
federation as experience had shown to be absolutely neces- 
sary ; that is, they advocated, if not the extreme state-rights 
doctrine, at least as great a degree of state sovereignty 
was at all compatible with orderly government. A few, 
notably Hamilton, advocated the establishment of a 
strongly centralized national government, in which the 
states should be shorn of all their sovereign power. The 
majority, however, hoped for the establishment of a moder- 
ately strong central government, with enough curtailment 
of state prerogatives to render the general government 
thoroughly efficient. 

Plans Submitted. 'The real work of the convention began 
on tlie twenty-ninth of May, when Edmund Randolph of 
Virginia submitted a plan of government, principally the 
work of Madison, consisting of fifteen propositions, most of 
which were finally embodied in the Constitution. This 
plan is known as the Virginia Plan. On the same day 
Charles Pinckney of South Carolina presented another 
plan, very similar in its provisions to that of the Virginia 
delegation, but more detailed. This received little atten- 
tion. The interest of the convention centered in the 
Virginia Plan and its principal opponent the New Jers 
Plan, introduced by Paterson of Xew Jersey and expr< 
ing the wishes of the smaller states. The Virginia Plan 
provided for a government to consist of the three depart- 
ments, — legislative, executive, and judicial, — the legis- 
lature to consist of two houses, the lower elected by the 
people, the upper by the lower from candidates nomi- 
nated, by the state legislatures. In both houses represen- 
tation was to be based on free population. Congress was 
also to choose the executive and the judiciary. This plan 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 187 

unquestionably gave the control of affairs into the hands 
of the larger states, and it met with fierce opposition on 
the part of the smaller ones. They therefore agreed upon 
the series of resolutions introduced by Paterson. This 
plan proposed to continue the existing government, but to 
give Congress power to regulate commerce, to raise revenue, 
to establish a federal judiciary, and to enforce its enact- 
ments. While these plans were under discussion, Hamilton 
made a speech to the convention, in the course of which he 
read a plan outlining a strongly centralized national gov- 
ernment in which the states had little power. This has 
been called Hamilton's Plan; but he knew, as he himself 
said, that it was very remote from the ideas of the people, 
and he probably intended only to outline more carefully 
his own views and the amendments he intended to offer at 
the proper time, rather than to submit a formal plan for 
the consideration of the convention. 

The First Great Compromise. As the discussion of the 
two principal plans proceeded, it became evident that 
only a most liberal spirit of compromise could enable the 
convention to effect anything. Differences of opinion 
among the delegates were so wide as to be all but ir- 
reconcilable. More than once the convention seemed on 
the verge of dissolution, but each time some compromise 
was effected and the work proceeded. The first great 
crisis came in the course of the discussion as to whether 
there should be a national or a federal government, and 
whether there should be equal representation of the states 
in Conj r whether representation should be appor- 

tioned on the basis of population. Naturally the -mailer 
ontended fiercely for equal representation. Finally 
one of the Connecticut delegates suggested a compromise, 
sed on the system i.i use in the Legislature of his 



188 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

own state, according to which there was to be equal 
representation of the states in the Senate but representation 
apportioned on the basis of population in the House of 
Representatives. To this the larger states agreed after 
some discussion, and thus the first great compromise of 
the Constitution was effected. 

The Second Great Compromise. This question as to the 
manner of representation in the two Houses having been 
settled, another arose as to the apportionment of represent- 
atives in the lower House. The population in the Southern 
states contained a large proportion o\ slaves possessed of 
no political rights. Ought they to be counted in determin- 
ing the number of representatives from those states; and 
if counted for that purpose, ought they not to be counted 
also in apportioning direct taxes? Finally a compromise 
was effected upon this question also, the tlirce-jiftlts 
compromise, as it is sometimes called, -according to 
which five slaves were to be counted as equal to three 
white men, and direct taxes were to be apportioned in the 
same manner as representatives. 

The Third Great Compromise also was made necessary 
by the existence of slavery and the slave trade. The real 
question at issue was whether or not the general govern- 
ment should be given control over commerce. The ill 
effects of allowing each state commercial independence 
had become evident under the Articles of Confederation, 
and the states engaged in general commerce desired its 
regulation by the general government. On the other 
hand, the states engaged in the slave trade, knowing the 
sentiment entertained against it at the North, feared that 
heavy losses might be entailed upon them by some pro- 
hibitory legislative act of the general government. A com- 
promise was finally reached by which it was agreed that 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 189 

Congress should be given control over commerce but should 
be forbidden to pass any act prohibiting the importa- 
tion of slaves before 180S, though it might levy a tax 
of ten dollars each on all slaves imported. Of this last 
provision, however. Congress never took advantage. It 
should not be supposed that these three were the only 
compromises of the Constitution; it has been said of it, 
indeed, that it was nothing but a series of compromises. 
These three, however, were of vital importance, since a 
failure to reach an agreement on any of these points would 
have resulted almost inevitably in the dissolution of the 
convention. 

Ratification. In accordance with the last article of the new 
Constitution, providing for its ratification on the twentieth 
of September. 1787. it was submitted to Congress, where 
it was subjected to criticism for eight days before it was 
sent to the state legislatures, to be by them in turn sub- 
mitted to conventions chosen by the people of the several 
states. It was not until June 21, 1788, that the ratifica- 
tion of the nine states necessary to the establishment of 
the new government was secured. Thereupon Congress 
made preparations for putting the Constitution into opera- 
tion, and the other state-. Ending themselves confronted 
with the alternative of joining the Union or standing alone 
in the world, since the old government established by the 
Articles of Confederation had been annihilated, ratified, 

by one, Rhode Island holding out until the end of 

May, 1790. 

Struggle over Ratification. Except in the smaller states, 

which very considerable concessions had been made, 

ratification was nearly everywhere secured with difficulty. 

Had the matter been left to a direct vote of the people, 

:ii over the country on the same day, it i- doubtful 



i go ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

if it could have been secured at all. Fortunately, as Mr. 
Bryce has noted, " The conventions were composed of able 
men, who listened to thoughtful arguments, and were them- 
selves influenced by the authority of their Leaders." l Out 
of this struggle over ratification emerged the first two great 
political parties in the United States. The supporters of 
the Constitution were called Federalists; the opponents, 
Antifederalists. The Federalist Party was in general the 
party of the moneyed classes the public creditors, the 
merchants, the lawyers ; the Antifederalist the party of the 
debtor class, the advocates of paper money in general, 
the less wealth}' portion of the community. The Anti- 
federalists objected, among other things, to the absence of 
a Bill of Rights in the new Constitution ; to the power of 
taxation given the national Legislature; to the power 
granted to the federal judiciary ; to the paying of congress- 
men out of the federal treasury, thus making them inde- 
pendent of the states; to the voting by individuals instead 
of by states in the national legislature — in short, to what 
they considered the too aristocratic, too centralized form 
of the new government. On the other hand, the views of 
the Federalist Party found expression most ably and thor- 
oughly through the series of remarkable political essays 
written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, and afterwards 
collected and published under the title of The Federalist. 
Their effectiveness in helping to secure ratification has been 
already mentioned. Other influences, too, were at work. 
The support of such tried and trusted men as Washington 
and Madison, the compromises made to different sections 
and interests, the example of other states — all had their 
effect upon doubtful states; but unquestionably the two 
most potent influences were the almost universal economic 

1 Bryce, Vol. I, p. 27. 



CONSTITUTION: FORMATION AND ADOPTION 191 

distress and the dread of foreign powers, especially Spain 
and England, who were believed, perhaps not wholly with- 
out reason, to be only awaiting a favorable opportunity 
for absorbing the youthful nation. 

Establishment of the New Government. As soon as 
the ratification of the necessary nine states was secured, 
Congress passed an act providing for the establishment and 
organization of the new government. The first Wednes- 
day in January, 1789, was designated as the day for ap- 
pointing electors ; the first Wednesday in February, for 
assembling and voting for president ; and the first Wednes- 
day in March, for " commencing the proceedings under 
the said Constitution/' It was not until April first, how- 
ever, that a quorum was secured in the House of Represent- 
atives and that body was organized, while in the Senate a 
quorum was first present on April sixth. Thereupon the 
votes were counted and Washington was declared elected. 
Some further delay ensued, but finally, on April thirtieth, 
occurred the inauguration of Washington and the installa- 
tion of the new government. 

Library References. Macy, pp. 38-40; Hinsdale, pp. S2-116; 

Bryce, Vol. I, chap, iii; Fiske, pp. 217-219; Channing, pp. 254-262, 

270-275 : Montgomery, pp. 214-218 ; Curtis, Vol. I, chaps, xv-xxxvi ; 

Period^ pp. 214-350; Roberts, Vol. II, pp. 446- 

447 : hap. vi : Lalor, Article on the Constitutional Convention; 

\ I. Book II. 1 hap. viii, Books III-IV, Book V, chaps. 

ii-iii ; Schouler, Vol. I, pp. 28 -70; McMaster, Vol. I. pp. 390-399, 

136-502. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Describe the political conditions which made necessary 
the present constitution of the United Stat 

2. What evils was the United States constitution intended to 
remedy? Does it remedy those evils? Give reasons. 



192 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

3. What state took the first step that led to the formation 
of the present Constitution? 

4. When and where was the Constitution made? Name 
six objects stated in the preamble. 

5. How was the Constitution framed? Name the three 
great compromises of the Constitution. 

6. What differences of opinion existed between the framers 
of the Constitution as to the powers of the Federal government ? 
What are these difference- sometimes called? 

7. What is meant by the statement : "The House ^\ Rep- 
resentatives represents the national idea; the Senate represents 

the federal idea" ? 

8. State the provisions under which the Constitution took 
effect. 

9. The sessions ^\ the Constitutional Convention were all 
executive; that is, the public was excluded from all meetings 
and the work of the convention kept secret until after final 
adjournment. Was this a wise thing to (\n'^ Why? 

10. Give the date oi the Constitutional Convention; the 
place; the names of the colonies represented; the name of the 
presiding officer ; and the name of the " peacemaker. " 

11. Who submitted the plan of government for the large 
states? for the small states? State the two most important 
reasons for adopting the Constitution. 

12. Who is called the lk Father oi the Constitution " ? Why ? 

13. Name the first two political parties. State the principles 
of each. 

14. What was " The Federalist " ? 

15. When and where was Washington inaugurated ? Give 
the oath of office required of the president upon entering upon 
the duties of his office ? 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE CONSTITUTION: ITS ORIGIN AND NATURE 

Its Origin. In regard to the originality of the Constitu- 
tion the most opposite views have been entertained. Mr. 
Gladstone's remark that it is " the most wonderful work 
ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose 
nan " has generally been construed, whether it was 
intended or not, as an assertion of its originality. On 
the other hand. Sir Henry Maine says that it is " in reality 
a version of the British constitution " as it then was. Both 
these statements are misleading, though both contain an 
clement of truth. As a matter of fact, the convention 
wisely based its work as little as possible upon untried 
theories. Only where colonial or state experience furnished 
no precedent did they risk an invention of their own. At 
the same time, there were in the situation before the con- 
vention some elements that were new — some problems for 
which the Cramers were compelled to devise new solutions. 
A- for the British constitution, it unquestionably exercised 
a very considerable influence upon the Cramers of our Con- 
stitution, but not directly, as Sir Henry Maine's remark 
implies. On the contrary, that influence came to them 
filtered, for the most part, through the channel- of colonial, 
•lutionary. or early national experier. 

Origin of Special Provisions. Nothing could be truer 
than the oft-quoted observation that nearly every provision 
of the federal constitution that has worked well was 

19} 



194 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

borrowed from some one of the state constitutions, and that 
nearly every one that has worked badly is one which the 
convention, in the absence of precedents, was obliged to 
devise for itself. It is interesting to note the source of 
some of these provisions. The separation of the govern- 
ment into three clearly defined departments, each inde- 
pendent of the others, had been characteristic of the 
colonies and after them of the >tates. the separation hav- 
ing been carried much further in America than in England. 
This characteristic reappears in an even more extreme 
form in the federal constitution. The division of the Legis- 
lature into two Houses, which has often been pointed to 
a direct copy of the English System, IS rather a copy of the 
plan almost universally in use in the states though it i- 
true that in character the two Houses of the federal legis- 
lature correspond much more closely to those ^i Great 
Britain. Even the names "Senate" and "House of Rep- 
resentatives " were in use in several of the states. The 
president also, in whom some writers have thought they 
saw a copy of the British monarch, corresponds much more 
closely in character and function to the governors of the 
states, some of whom were called presidents. In several 
states, too, the office of vice president existed. Some 
half dozen or more of the states also provided a method of 
impeachment. 

Suggestions from the States. Certain states can he 
pointed to more especially as furnishing the suggestions 
for particular provisions. We have already seen that the 
different basis of representation in the two Houses was 
suggested by the constitution of Connecticut. The veto 
power of the chief executive is found also in the constitution 
of Massachusetts ; the constitution of Delaware provided 
for the election of one third of the senators every two 




The Panama Canal (above and Federal Government Meat 
Inspection below) 

Our federal government. g this canal, shortened tin- great trade 

routes of the world by thousands of miles; and by its pure-food laws and food 

inspection it undertakes to guard the health of those who consume our products 



195 



1 96 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

years ; the constitution of New York made provision for a 
census every seven years for the purpose of apportioning 
representatives ; in Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
all revenue bills originated in the house of representati\ 
As a whole, the plan devised for electing the president 
was original, but even here the idea of an electoral coll 
was derived from Maryland. Perhaps the truest proto- 
type for the Supreme Court is to be found, not in the stal 
but in the judicial committee of the privy council in Great 
Britain. In fact, in the provisions of the Constitution 
there was little indeed that wias new. Such originality 
as there was lay rather in the attempt to frame a written 
constitution for a federation, and in the idea of submitting 
it to the people for ratification {the referendum). kk The 
work of the convention was a work of -election, not a 
work of creation, and . . . the success of their work was 
not a success of invention, always most dangerous in L r ov- 
ernment, hut a success ^\ judgment, of selective wisdom, 
of practical sagacity — the only sort of success in politics 
which can ever be made permanent." l 

Its Nature Different from the British Constitution. 
The character of the government established by the new 
Constitution was something different not only from the 
government of Great Britain, upon which it had been in 
many respects indirectly modeled, but from that of the 
Confederation as well. It is doubtful if the framers them- 
selves realized how widely their work diverged from the 
mass of charters, statutes, and usages that made up the 
unwritten, highly flexible constitution of Great Britain. 
Perhaps the cardinal difference lay in the widely different 
character of the two great legislative bodies, Parliament 
and Congress. It should be remembered that the British 

1 Wilson, p. 475. 



CONSTITUTION: ORIGIN AND NATURE 197 

Parliament is and was then an absolutely sovereign body. 
It may make or unmake any law, change the constitution 
or the form of government at will, interfere with any of 
the " unalienable " rights of the citizen, do any one of a 
thousand things that it never does do. None of its acts 
can be " unconstitutional," for there is no higher author- 
ity competent to pronounce them so. In legal theory it 
is the nation and possesses all of the nation's powers. The 
Congress oi the United States is no such sovereign body. 
Neither Congress, nor the president, nor both together can 
move one step beyond the strict limits assigned them by 
the Constitution. Their powers are carefully enumerated, 
and any acts done in excess of them are simply void. 
S vreign power such as belongs, theoretically at least, to 
the British Parliament can be exercised in the United 
Status only by the whole body of the people acting in the 
manner prescribed by the Constitution. 

Different from the Confederation. Between the new 
government and the old government of the Confederation 
there were also some radical differences. The new Con- 
ation did more than merely strengthen the general 
government so as to render it efficient. It changed a 
confederation into a federation — a league of state- into 
a national state. The central government operated no 
longer upon the states merely, but upon the individual 
rell. 

Growth of Nationality. To be sure, the Constitution as 
in 1789 is not exactly the Constitution as it is 
lay. I' en developed by amendment, first of all, 

but even more by interpretation and by custom ; and prac- 
tically all such development ha- been in the direction of 
ilization, of consolidation. It must be admitted 
that the federation of 1789 was much looser, much more 



1 98 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

like the old Confederation, than is the Union of to-day. 
The public sentiment of the time, which was for the most 
part indifferent or lukewarm toward the Union and jeal- 
ously watchful of the prerogatives of the states, demanded 
such an interpretation of the Constitution as would impose 
upon the general government the strictest limitations com- 
patible with efficiency. As time passed, however, and the 
nation expanded, bringing into the Union new states with 
no memory of a time when the states were all and the 
Union naught; as a network of railroads gradually spread 
over the country, bringing the people together and making 
them more homogeneous; as war with other countries 
wakened a patriotism wider than state patriotism, and 
civil war finally swept away the last great barriers between 
sections — the sentiment of nationality slowly prevailed 
over local prejudices and attachments. Instead of the old 
jealousy and distrust of the general government on the 
part of the states, there grew up a realization of the fact 
that under the Constitution state government and national 
government are mutually complementary, that neither 
usurps the functions of the other, that each is a necessary 
part of a single scheme. 

Relation between the States and the Union. The 
peculiar relation existing between the states and the 
national government is perhaps to the student of politics 
the most puzzling feature of our Constitution. It will be 
remembered that under the Articles of Confederation the 
general government was a government of delegated powers, 
these powers having been delegated by the states. Under 
the Constitution the general government may still be said 
to be a government of delegated powers, but the source 
of authority is no longer the states but the people of the 
United States, though the people act through the state 



CONSTITUTION: ORIGIN AND NATURE 199 

organization. Further, we may say that during the period 
of the Confederation the prevalent theory was that the 
Union had been formed by a mere compact between the 
states, from which they retained the power of withdrawing 
at will. From the time of the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion to the Civil War this theory struggled for supremacy 
against the opposing opinion that by the ratification of 
the Constitution the states had become inseparable parts 
of the Union, to which they had permanently surrendered 
their sovereignty. Practically, if not theoretically, this 
question was settled finally by the test of civil war ; and 
since that struggle it is admitted that, whatever other 
powers the states may possess, they do not possess the 
power of withdrawing from the Union (the right of seces- 
sion). On the other hand, the states are not mere adminis- 
trative divisions of the general government, nor are their 
powers delegated to them by the Constitution. That 
instrument withholds from them certain powers ; but 
such functions as they perform, they perform by an in- 
herent, not a delegated, authority. Within their own 
spheres they are completely independent, self-governing 
bodies. Their government " is subordinate only in the 
sense of being less than national in its jurisdiction." 

Departments of Government. Besides this delicate ad- 
justment of powers between state and national govern- 
ment, so that both operate without friction even within 
the same sphere, perhaps the most remarkable feature of 
our Constitution is the strict separation of the three great 
function- or departments of government the legislative, 
the executive, and the judicial. By thus separating 
these three essentia] functions of government, making 
them independent and coordinate, and placing in the 

hand- of each the mean- of defending itself against the 



200 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

encroachments of the other two, the framers of the Consti- 
tution hoped to secure not only the rights of the individual 
citizen, but permanency for the form of government estab- 
lished. They tried to establish a complete system of 
" checks and balances," so that it would be impossible for 
any one department to overshadow the others and seize 
supreme power. For example, the executive power is vested 
in the president ; but through his veto power he holds a 
very effective check upon the legislature, while his right 
of pardon gives him a share of judicial power also. Legis- 
lative power is vested in Congress ; but the House of Repre- 
sentatives, through its control of the public purse, and the 
Senate, through its power of advice and consent in the 
matter of appointments and treaties, both act as checks 
upon the executive. Judicial power is vested in the 
Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as may be 
tablished; but through the power of the Supreme Court 
to pass upon the constitutionality of any law, the judicial 
department acts as a check upon the legislature. Greatest 
care was taken to make each department as independent as 
possible of the other two — in the case of the judiciary, by 
making their tenure of office as secure as possible ; in the 
case of the other two, by making them responsible, not to 
each other, but directly to the people (since the Seven- 
teenth Amendment). 

Stability of the Constitution. Contrary to the expecta- 
tion of many at the time of its adoption, the Constitution 
has proved itself extremely stable. The process of amend- 
ment, while not so difficult as to be impracticable, as was 
the case with the Articles of Confederation, has neverthe- 
less proved too cumbersome to be resorted to unadvisedly. 
As a result the Constitution has been but little changed by 
amendment. Of the seventeen amendments that have been 



CONSTITUTION: ORIGIN AXD NATURE 201 

passed, the first ten, often called the Bill of Rights, were 
passed at one time and might almost be counted as one; 
next, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth, relating to 
and growing out of the Civil War, are really a unit ; so that 
it is perhaps not inaccurate to say that the Constitution 
has really been amended but six times. 

But it has undergone development through the process 
oi judicial interpretation and through custom. Mr. Brvce 
has said of it, k ' The constitution as a whole has stood and 
stands unshaken. The scales of power have continued to 
hang fairly even. The president has not corrupted and en- 
slaved Congress; Congress has not paralyzed and cowed 
the president. . . . Neither the legislature nor the execu- 
tive has for a moment threatened the liberties of the people. 
The state- have not broken up the Union, and the Union has 
not absorbed the states. No wonder that the Americans 
arc proud of an instrument under which this great result has 
been attained; which has passed unscathed through the 
furnace of civil war ; which has been found capable of em- 
bracing a body of commonwealths more than three times 
a- numerous, and with twentyfold the population, of the 
original states; which has cultivated the political intelli- 

i the masses to a point reached in no other country ; 
which has Fostered and been found compatible with a 

measure of local self-government than has existed 

Library References. Harrison, chap, i; Macy, chaps, vi, XXXV ; 

Bryce, VoL I, chaps, ii-iv; Wilson, 
§§ 869-Svt ; Hinsdale, chaps, xii-.w; Madison, Journal of Con- 
ation; Federalist] Johnston, pp. 12-14; Curtis, 
Vol. II. chaps, i -ii : Channing, pp. dj Fiske, American 

■ ■ 100 ; Wilson, I 1 mmentf 

: LalOT, Article on Constitution of the 

Unii ; Woodburn, pp. 



202 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Mention two governmental institutions that are derived 
from England. 

2. Compare the constitution o* the United States with the 
English constitution as to (i) origin, (2) form, (3) susceptibility 
to change. 

3. What provisions of the Constitution were taken from the 
various state constitutions? 

4. Mention one respect in which the constitution of the 
United States differs from that of England. Compare the 
powers of Parliament and Congress. 

5. Distinguish between confederacy and nation. What kind 
of government was that of the Continental Congress? 

6. Show how the Constitution changed the relations "from 
a league of states into a national state." 

7. Into what three departments are the powers of the 
United States government divided, and why is this division 
made ? 

8. What is the source of the powers (1 ) of the United States 
government, (2) of the state governments? 

9. What was the ordinance of nullification? Of what doc- 
trine was it an expression? How has this question been finally 
settled ? 

10. Give Mr. Gladstone's opinion of the Constitution. 

11. Give the substance of Mr. Bryce's statement regarding 
the working of the Constitution. 



CHAPTER XIX 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS ORGANIZATION 

The Two Houses. In the United States, legislative power 
is vested in a Congress consisting of two Houses, called the 
Senate and the House of Representatives — the first chosen 
in such a way as to make it representative of the states, 
that is, representative of the federal idea ; the latter chosen 
in such a way as to make it representative of the people 

i whole, that is, of the national idea. In the Constitu- 
tional Convention there was almost unanimous agreement 
that the new Congress should consist of two Houses. The 
failure of the old Congress of the Confederation, with its 
single house, the much more satisfactory experience of the 
>tates with their two-chamber systems, and, most of all, 
doubtless, the faith of the convention in the efficacy of 

ystem of " checks and balances, " all helped to secure 
unanimity on this point. It was intended that each House 
should act as a check upon the other, thus preventing over- 
hastyor ill-advised legislation. We have already seen whence 
the name- " Senate" and " House of Representatives" were 

derived, and how it came about that the basis of represen- 
tation in the two Houses is different (pp. [86 and 193). 

Number of Members. In size the two branches of the 
legislature differ greatly, though in neither is the number 

of member- a fixed one. The House of Representat i\ 
sometime- called the lower House, often Simply the House, 

203 



204 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

is by far the more numerous. The Constitution provides 
that the number of representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand of such population as is entitled to 
representation, though every state is to have at least one 
representative ; and in order to apportion the representa- 
tives, provision was made for a decennial census, the first 
enumeration to be made within three years after the first 
meeting of Congress. Until the first enumeration should 
be made, the Constitution arbitrarily apportioned the 
representatives among the states, making the whole num- 
ber sixty-five. So long as slavery existed, the population 
entitled to representation consisted of all free persons, 
including those bound to a term of service, and excluding 
untaxed Indians, together with three fifths of the slai 
Since the passing of the Fourteenth Amendment it has con- 
sisted of the whole number o\ persons in each state except 
untaxed Indians. 

Since the meeting of the first Congress the number o\ 
members in the House of Representatives has been increased 
with the increase of population, though not in direct pro- 
portion. After every decennial census Congress deter- 
mines what shall be the whole number of representatives, 
and they are then apportioned among the >tatcs according 
to population. By act of Congress, approved August, 1911, 
to take effect March 4, 191 3, the number of representatives 
was fixed at 435, which is in the ratio of on: representative 
to about 220,000 of the population. In the first House the 
ratio was one for about every 61,000. The criticism is 
sometimes made that the House has become so large as to 
be unwieldy, but it is still small in comparison with the 
lower houses of the leading European legislatures. In 
England the corresponding body consists of 670 members ; 
in France, of 602 ; in Germany, of 397. If a new state is 







: i Cu 1MB! k (above) \\i) THE Cfl UIBEB 

be Hoi . i aiiv! s bel 



205 



206 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

admitted after an apportionment act is passed, the new 
members are additional to those provided for by the act. 

Besides the regular representatives from the states, 
there are in the House delegates from the territories, each 
organized territory being entitled to one. These delegates 
have the privilege of speaking on any question affecting 
their territories, but are allowed no vote. Since represen- 
tation in the Senate is based on the states and divided 
among all the states equally, each stale being entitled 
to two senators, that body also increases in size with 
the admission of every new state. Composed at first of 
twenty-six members, it now numbers ninety-six. 

The Suffrage. The member- of the House of Representa- 
tives are chosen directly by the people in each State. At 
the time of the Constitutional Convention the limitations 
upon the suffrage differed very considerably in the differ- 
ent states, and it seemed wisest to leave to the states the 
matter of deciding who should have the right to vote for 
representatives; consequently it was provided that the 
electors (those possessing the right to vote) in each state 
should have the qualifications necessary for electors of 
the most numerous branch of the state legislature. By 
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments of 1868 and 
1870, however, some restrictions were placed upon this 
unqualified right of the states to fix the limitations of the 
suffrage. By the Fifteenth Amendment the states are for- 
bidden to abridge the right to vote " on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude," while the Four- 
teenth brings strong pressure to bear in favor of manhood 
suffrage by providing for a reduction of the basis of repre- 
sentation in proportion as any state abridges the franchise 
of any male citizen twenty-one years of age except for 
participation in crime. In spite of these restrictions, 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 207 

however, it is possible for the electoral franchise by which 
the members of the national House of Representatives are 
chosen to differ widely in the different states. As a matter 
of fact, the differences are small. There is practically man- 
hood suffrage everywhere, except for the disqualification in 
some states of paupers, illiterates, and other defective or 
delinquent classes. 

Qualifications of Representatives. The qualifications fixed 
by the Constitution for members of the House of Represent- 
atives are three: the person 1 chosen must be (1) at least 
twentv-five years of age; (2) for seven years or more a 
citizen of the United States ; and (3), when elected, an inhab- 
itant of the state from which he is chosen. But universal 
custom and, in some states, state law have placed a further 

friction by requiring the representative to be also a resi- 
dent of his congressional district. The advisability of this 
additional qualification has been questioned. In Europe, 
where this local restriction does not generally exist, it has 
been found that representatives of one district elected from 
some other are not less well informed as to local needs 
or less zealous in behalf of their constituents than those 
chosen from their own districts. It is argued against the 

tem that it tends to lower the general level of ability in 
the , — on the one hand, by returning men of 

infei 3 >me districts where there is less talent 

where the ablest men do not seek to enter politics; on 
the >iit men of superior ability in districts, 

in the older states, where 

able m s than the places to be filled. 

In m, however, there is a deep-rooted public 

1 In November, 1 feannettc Rankin to 

-he is the first woman 1 1 thai body. She cast her 

nst the declaration of war with Germany. 



2o8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

sentiment in favor of the restriction. Besides the feeling 
of local pride, which forbids the supposition that a better 
candidate could be found outside the district than within 
it, and the less commendable desire to reward local politi- 
cal services with such offices, there is a profound belief 
that no one can understand local needs or be so zealous in 
behalf of local interests as one residing in the community 
represented. 

Exclusion of Members-Elect. These are the only restric- 
tions imposed upon the people in the choice of their rep- 
resentatives; but it does not necessarily follow that every 
representative chosen by a constituency will be sealed in 
the national Legislature. The House has more than once 
asserted its right to exclude members-elect for treason or 
other crime. During the Civil War an act was passed 
requiring of persons elected to office a test oath that de- 
barred great numbers, and Congress lias always maintained 
its right to exclude members-elect in ease something in 
their character or career is strongly condemned by public 
sentiment. It was on this principle that the House of 
Representatives acted in January, 1900, when it excluded 
Brigham H. Roberts of Utah as tk a violator of federal law- 
relating to polygamy and its attendant crimes "; and the 
Senate in July, 191 1, when it excluded William H. Lorimer 
of Illinois for employing corrupt methods to secure his 
election. 

i Length of Term. While the term of a representative is 
fixed by the Constitution at two years, reelection is pos- 
sible as often as may be pleasing to the constituents. As 
a matter of fact, however, it is not the general practice, 
except perhaps in some of the older Eastern states, to re- 
turn the same man term after term. In order to be even 
moderately sure of retaining his seat through two or three 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT : ORGANIZATION 209 

successive terms, a representative must usually be either 
a very adroit politician or an eminent part)- leader. The 
result is that a congressman's whole period of service in the 
House is not likely, on the average, to be more than four 
years, and that at each biennial election the composition 
of the House is greatly changed, about half the members 
being new men. This, it is urged on the one hand, is an 
advantage in a number of ways : rotation in office helps 
to keep our institutions democratic; the biennial elections 
tend to keep the people alive to the political questions of 
the day ; the shortness of the term assists in preventing 
any extensive political jobber}-; and the occurrence of an 
election in the middle of the president's term acts as a 
cheek upon him by giving the people, if they wish it, an 
opportunity to express disapproval of his policy by return- 
ing a House politically opposed to him. On the other 
hand, there is at least one unquestionable objection to 
the shortness of the term: it practically obliges the man 
who is ambitious for a political career to devote his best 
energy to the securing of his reelection rather than to the 
: MS study of legislative problems. Mr. Bryce says of 
this: " No habit could more effectually discourage noble 
ambition or check the growth of a class of accomplished 
en. There are few walks of life in which experi- 
e counts for more than it does in parliamentary politics. 
Lucation in itself an education in which the 
quick-witted Western American would make rapid prog- 
he suffered to remain long enough at Washing- 
ton. At present he i- not suffered, for . . . nearly one 
half of each successive house consists of new men, while 
the old members are too much harassed by the trouble 
of procuring their reflection to have time or motive for the 
ly of politic al problems." 



210 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Elections. The times, places, and manner of holding 
elections for members of Congress are left by the Con- 
stitution to the state legislatures, though the right is re- 
served to Congress to alter such regulations of the state 
legislatures at any time, " except as to the place of choos- 
ing senators." Since the adoption of the Constitution, 
Congress has thought best to fix the time for and define 
the manner of holding these elections. For the election of 
representatives the time prescribed is the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November of the even-numbered 
years. As to the manner of election the practice of the 
states at first varied, some electing their members by dis- 
tricts, others electing them on a common ticket for the 
whole state. This last method, often called election by 
general ticket or " at large," usually resulted in giving 
to the party that carried the state the whole number of 
representatives, though the defeated party might have 
been almost equal in numbers. Since 1S42 the state- 
have been required to elect representatives by districts 
only, though under certain conditions they are given per- 
mission to elect by general ticket. The division of the 
state into districts is left to the state legislatures. 

Gerrymandering. This power of marking out the con- 
gressional districts has given the state legislatures a very 
important part in determining the composition of the House 
by means of the process known as " gerrymandering' ' ; nor 
have the restrictions placed upon the states greatly dimin- 
ished that influence. The process of gerrymandering con- 
sists in laying out the districts in such a way as to secure 
for the political party making the division a majority in 
as many districts as possible. Thus, where a district is 
in any case hopelessly lost to the gerrymandering party, 
district lines are manipulated in such a way as to throw 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 211 

into it as large a proportion of political opponents as pos- 
sible ; where a district is doubtful, it is strengthened by 
adding to it some town or section strongly favorable. In 
interpreting the act of 1872, by which it was required that 
the territory composing the district should be compact and 
contiguous, any territory has been regarded as contiguous 
that touches the district at a single point; and as a result 
some districts have been created quite as absurd in contour 
as that which first gave rise to the term " gerrymander." l 
In Missouri, in order to throw as great a number of 
negro voters as possible into a single district, one was 
created that measured along its windings a greater length 
than the state itself. Other historic examples are the 
one-time famous " shoe-string " district of Mississippi 
(500 miles long by 40 broad), the " dumb-bell " district of 
Pennsylvania, and the " monkey-wrench " district of Iowa. 

Representatives at Large. If, after a census, the num- 
ber of representatives in any state has been increased, and 
the legislature fails to redistrict the state before the next 
congressional election, the additional representatives are 
chosen on a general ticket and are known as " representa- 
- at large." 

Vacancies. In case a member wishes to resign for any 
reason, he does so by letter to the governor of his state. 
If a seat becomes vacant by the death, resignation, or ex- 
pulsion of a member, the governor issues a writ for a new 
■ ion. 

1 The name is said to have had its origin in an incident connected with 
the redistricting of Massachusetts by the Republican Legislature in 181 1, 

while E31 )'»r. In the redistribution one of the dis- 

hat lizard-like form. This was shown on a map 

hang the desk of the editor of an opposition paper. The painter. 

Gilbert Stuart, happening to promptly added bead, wings, 

and remarking, 11 do for a salamander." "Better say a 

-ymander." replied the- editor, and the word parsed into the language. 



212 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Election Expenses. There are always, of course, expenses 
connected with an election — some necessary I for example, 
for clerks, polling booths, printing, etc.) J sbme perhaps 
not absolutely necessary, yet regarded as quite legitimate : 
some entirely illegitimate. The official expenses are paid 
out of the public treasury. The total expense varies greatly 
from district to district. In some districts it is very small ; 
in other warmly contested district-, especially in large 
cities, it mounts up into the thousands of dollar-. It is 
certain that briber}- is resorted to more or less Frequently, 
but circumstances make proof of the offense SO difficult 

that an election is not often contested on that ground. 
The power of deciding contested election cases rests with 

the House, which doe- not meet, until a year after the elec- 
tion. Since such a contest is likely to drag over the greater 
part of the first session, there is a genera] disinclination to 

enter upon it, the shortness ^i the term making it seem 
hardly worth while. 

The House: Officers. The first business before a new 
Congress is naturally the business of organization and the 
election of officers. In the House these officers are Speaker, 
clerk, sergeant at arms, doorkeeper, postmaster, and chap- 
lain, only the first of whom is a member of the House. The 
term of the Speaker expires with the Congress that elected 
him; the other officers hold over until their successors are 
chosen. In the organization of a new House the clerk of 
the preceding one plays an important part. It is his busi- 
ness to make up the roll of the new House from the certified 
returns of the states, and in doing this he is obliged to en- 
roll all who hold regular certificates, even though a question 
of their validity has been raised. Thus, even those whose 
seats are contested take part in the organization of the 
House. Until the House elects a Speaker, the clerk of the 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 213 

old House also acts as presiding officer and is expected in 
his rulings to deal fairly with all concerned. In case as 
sometimes happens, the election of a Speaker is more than 
a formal ratification by the House of a choice made in the 
caucus of the majority part\\ this duty of presiding may 
make the clerk of the House for a time an important figure 
politically. The ordinary duties of the clerk are to keep a 
record of all questions of order that arise, to certify to the 
passage of bills, to keep an account of disbursements, to 
keep the House journal and take charge of its printing. 

The duties of the doorkeeper, postmaster, and chaplain 

are sufficiently indicated by their names. To the ser- 

nt at arm- is intrusted the task of keeping order in 

the House. He also acts as paymaster of the house, pay- 

j members and delegates their salaries and mileage. The 
Speaker is the most important officer in the House. In- 
deed, he has been called " the second if not the first political 
figure in the United States. " Since his special duties and 
powers will be described in another connection (pp. 278- 
2S0 ). it will here suffice to say that he performs in the House 
the usual duties of a presiding officer, and calls a member 
to the chair when the House resolves itself into a " com- 
mittee of the whole/' that is, when it changes itself from a 

'dative to a deliberative assembly in order to consider 
particular questions In-fore taking legislative action upon 
them. 

Method of Choice. Nominally the officers of the House 
are chosen directly by the House; actually they have al- 
ii before the House takes action in the 
matter. The real choice is made at a caucus of the major- 
ity party, where a list of the officer- is agreed upon. When 
these nomination- are made in the House, the party votes 
for them and the election is of course assured. To 



214 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

be sure, the majority could, if it chose, reject the decision 
of the caucus ; but it does not choose, so that the election 
by the House virtually amounts to a mere formal ratifica- 
tion of the choice made in the caucus. 

The Senate : its Origin and Character. Turning now 
to the Senate, we find ourselves dealing with a body in some 
respects very different in character from the House of Rep- 
resentatives. It is often supposed that the Senate had its 
origin in the necessity for conciliating the small states. As 
we have already seen, this is an erroneous idea (p. 187). 
From the first there was practically unanimous agreement 
in the Constitutional Convention that the national legis- 
lature should consist of two Hon-. 5, Some sort of Senate 
we should have had in any case. When the necessity for 
conciliating the small states arose out of the question as to 
what should be the basis of representation in the national 
legislature, it did nothing but determine the form of the 
Senate. It made it representative of the federal idea (the 
idea that this is a union of states), which is just as true 
and just as important as the national idea (the idea that 
the people of the United States collectively form a single 
nation, one and indivisible). Ever since the convention 
the provision of the Constitution giving the states equal 
representation in the Senate has found opponents. It is 
argued that -it is not fair, not in keeping with democratic 
institutions, that Nevada, for instance, with her 98,726 l 
inhabitants, should have as much legislative power in the 
Senate as New York with her 9,773,81 7. l The criticism 
overlooks the fact that the framers of our Constitution 
did not intend to form a simple democratic government for 
a consolidated state. They were building a federal state. 
Certainly, aside from the fact that for the framers of the 

1 Census of 1915. 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 215 

Constitution it was a practical necessity, the plan of equal 
representation of the states in the Senate offers advantages. 
It gives a real justification for the division of the legislature 
into two Houses, by providing a distinctly different basis of 
representation; and it forms a link between the state and 
national governments. 

The Senate : Constitutional Provisions. The constitu- 
tional provisions determining the character and organiza- 
tion of the Senate may be summed up very briefly. The 
significance of some of them will have to be considered 
more at length. According to the Constitution the Senate 
is to be composed of two senators from each state, chosen 
by the people, 1 for a term of six years. Any person so 
chosen must have attained the age of thirty years, must 
have been for nine years a citizen of the United States, 
and must, when elected, be an inhabitant of the state 
from which he is chosen. It was provided that after the 
rirst election the senators were to be divided as equally 
as possible into three classes, the first to retain their seats 
for two years, the second for four, and the third for six, so 
that one third of the Senate might be chosen every second 
year. When vacancies occur in the representation of any 
state, the executive of such state issues writs of election 
to fill such vacancies. The state legislature may authorize 
the governor to make temporary appointments pending 
the election to fill vacancies. The vice president of the 
United States is to be president of the Senate, but has no 
vote except in case of a tie. The Senate is to elect also a 
president pro tempore (who pre>ide> when the vi< e president 
fa absent) and such other officers as it. chooses. Every 
senator is to have a vote; that i>, the vote in the Senate 
i> to be by individuals, not by -tales. 

1 See Seventeenth Amendment, p. lxxiii. 



216 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Senate : Objects Aimed At. It is interesting to note 
how these provisions have determined the character of the 
Senate, sometimes resulting as the framers of the Constitu- 
tion intended that they should, sometimes giving most un- 
expected results. Their main object was to create in the 
Senate a dignified, conservative body possessed of practical 
experience and superior intellectual ability, which was to 
act as a check both upon the " democratic recklessness " of 
the House and the " monarchical tendencies " of the execu- 
tive. It was hoped that the higher age qualification would 
result in sending to the Senate men of wider information 
and greater stability of character than that ordinarily p 
sessed by members of the House, while the indirect manner 
of election (changed by the Seventeenth Amendment) and 
the length of the term were intended to secure greater in- 
dependence of action than was possible or desirable in the 
lower House. In order that it might bean effective cheek 
upon the executive, it was deemed necessary that the 
Senate should be made to share to a certain extent execu- 
tive power. Hence its comparatively small size. This, 
too, was the primary reason for the division of the Senate 
into classes. One of its chief executive functions is to 
share in the management of foreign affairs — a function 
that can be satisfactorily performed only by a body pos- 
sessing sufficient permanency to assure a certain continuity 
of policy. By retiring only one third of the Senate every 
two years such permanency is secured. A " new House" 
is created every second year ; a " new Senate " never. 

Election of Senators. Of those clauses of the Constitu- 
tion dealing with the Senate, the one providing for a method 
of electing the senators was perhaps the most conspicuous 
failure. The Constitution provided simply that they were 
to be elected by the state legislatures, the time and manner 



r 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 217 

of holding such elections being left to the decision of the 
states, though the right was reserved to Congress " to 
make or alter such regulations by law " at any time. Up 
to 1866 Congress took no action in the matter. Then a 
federal law was passed providing a uniform method of 
election. This required that each House should first vote 
separately for the election of a senator. If the choice of 
both Houses did not fall upon the same person, they were 
to meet in joint session and take a viva voce vote, a majority 
of each House being present and a majority of the whole 
legislature being required for election. If there was still 
no election, the joint assembly must meet on each succeed- 
ing day and take at least one vote until a choice was made. 
These provisions so often resulted in abuse of various kinds 
(the deadlock, the breaking of a quorum, etc.) that agita- 
tion arose in favor of direct election of senators, and a 
number of the state legislatures formally recorded their 
approval of the plan. 

Movement toward Direct Election by the People. The 
objections urged against the election of United States 
senators by the state legislatures were by no means trifling. 
The tendency was unquestionably to carry the strife of 
national parties into the state legislatures and there to 
make national party interests paramount, to the detriment 
interests. Thi> method of election was charged 
ith the deterioration of state Legislatures, with the 

'.th of mat hine rule, with the purcha-ability of senator- 
ships, and with the decline of the United State- itself." 

- methods of securing something like a direct elec- 
tion used. The choice of senator was fre- 
quently made through the expression of the party caucus, 
I by the majority party in the state legislature, 

thus 1>: ia] <]<■< tion one step nearer to direct 



218 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

election by the people. This was done in response to the 
demand of the people to choose their own representatives 
in the Senate, and undoubtedly influenced Congress to 
propose the amendment to the Constitution providing for 
the direct election of senators by the people at general 
elections. Another method which had its influence on 
Congress was the practice of the state of Nebraska. Tn 
that state, voters, when voting for members of the state 
legislature, were permitted " to express by ballot their 
preference for some person for the office of United States 
senator. " The votes east for such candidates were can- 
vassed and returned in the same manner as for state offif 
Where such a system prevailed, any party could propose B 
qualified candidate for senator and secure an expression of 
popular approval or disapproval throughout the state, of 
course, the legislature was not then bound by law to elect 
a candidate who might have been indicated, in such a man- 
ner, as the people's choice; but the political power of any 
unmistakable expression of popular opinion is very great, 
and such an expression would naturally be ratified in the 
state legislature. It was also quite generally the custom 
in the Southern states to nominate United States senators 
at the primaries, and such nominations were considered 
morally binding upon the state legislature. 

The Seventeenth Amendment and Direct Election. 
Several times a resolution for an amendment to the Constitu- 
tion to procure the direct election of senators by the people 
passed the House but failed in the Senate. Finally the 
second session of the Sixty-second Congress passed a resolu- 
tion (191 2) approving a constitutional amendment for this 
purpose. The amendment had to be ratified by three 
fourths of the state legislatures (see Art. V, p. lxvii). This 
was done, and the state of Georgia was the first to choose 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 219 

a senator under the provisions of this amendment (July, 
1915"). In 191 5 the terms of one third of the members of 
the Senate expired. At the general election in November, 
1914, their successors were elected by direct vote of the 
people. 

The Senate : its Officers. The officers of the Senate, 
except the president, are chosen by that body. They are 
president, president pro tempore, secretary, chief clerk, 
sergeant at arms, chaplain, postmaster, librarian, and door- 
keeper. None of these except the president pro tempore is 
a member of the Senate. As we have already seen (p. 215), 
the vice president of the United States is ex officio president 
of the Senate. He cannot vote except in case of a tie, nor 
does he appoint the committees, they being chosen by the 
Senate. The president pro tempore, on the other hand, has 
a vote on any question, but cannot cast the deciding vote 
in case of a tie. The vice president, having taken the oath 
of office at his inauguration, takes up his duties as presiding 
officer on the first day of the session and administers the 
oath of office to the new senators. 

Privileges of Members of Congress. The members of 
both Houses are by the Constitution granted certain privi- 
leges, on the one hand, and subjected to certain restrictions, 
on the other. Except in the case of treason, felony, or 
breach of the peace they are exempt from arrest while 
attending sessions of the legislature or while going to or 
coming from such meetings; and they cannot be subjected 
to question outside the legislature for any speech or debate 
uttered there The object of taking this extraordinary pre- 
caution to secure freedom of persoD and freedom of speech 
to a member of Congress is of course to prevent his dis- 
trict from being actually deprived of it- representation by 
mean- of a false charge against him, or practically deprived 



220 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of it by muzzling his utterances. Besides thus securing 
them special privileges, the Constitution provides that 
congressmen shall be paid for their services out of the 
federal treasury. The question as to whether salaries 
should be paid to the national legislators was warmly dis- 
cussed in the Constitutional Convention. English practice 
was opposed to it ; the practice of the states favored it. 
The convention followed the example set by the states, 1 
partly in the belief that men of ability might thus be en- 
abled to enter the public service who would Otherwise be 
debarred by poverty, parti}' with a feeling that the salary 
might be a means of making positions in the national Lej 
lature attractive enough to compete with those of the 
state legislatures. The Constitution left the amount of the 

salary to be determined by law, and it lias been changed 
several limes. Both senators and representatives receive 
$7500 per year, with 20 cents per mile for traveling ex- 
penses to and from Washington, and Si 25 for Stationery. 
Each senator is allowed $1800 per year, and each repre- 
sentative $1500 per year for a clerk. The Speaker of the 
House receives $12,000 per year and mileage ; the president 
pro tempore the same while acting as president of the 
Senate. 

Disabilities. On the other hand, members of the federal 
legislature are disqualified for appointment to " any civil 
office under the authority of the United States which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
been increased " during their term of service ; and United 
States officials cannot become members of the national 
legislature and at the same time continue in office. The 
object of the first part of this provision was to remove a 

1 Bryce presents the arguments on the other side. See Vol. I, pp. 194- 
195 and note. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 221 

possible temptation on the part of members to create offices, 
or increase the salaries attaching to offices already existing, 
for the sake of profiting by them personally. The last part 
i- another example of concession made to appease state 
jealousy, the >tates fearing that the admission of United 
States officials to seats in Congress would give the national 
government undue influence over the states. 

Sessions of Congress. The time fixed by the Constitu- 
tion for the meeting of Congress is the first Monday in 
December. As we have already noted (p. 210), the elec- 
tions for members of the House fall in November of the 
even-numbered years, but the House elected at that time 
docs not meet until December of the following year. There 
are two sessions of each Congress : the first, or long, session, 
beginning the first Monday in December a year after elec- 
tion and continuing usually until midsummer, though it 
would be possible for it to continue until December ; and 
the second, or short, session, beginning likewise in December 
one year after the opening of the first session and continu- 
ing until the fourth of March following, when the Congress 
expire-. Thus it will be seen that one session of each 
Congress is held after its successor has been elected, and 
that it i^ possible for the expiring Congress to pass legis- 
lation of which the pcopk- have already expressed disap- 
proval 1)\- electing a House of a different political complexion. 
Hills may carry over from the long to the short, session in 
the House and perish with the arrival of March 4, but 

ate hill- do not die hy the passing of time. The daily 

it Usually from noon until four or six o'clock, 

hut m. ;id <»ftcn are, prolonged until late at night, 

particularly toward the end of the session. Each Congress 

two The Sixty-fifth 

• Monday in 1 Jeeember, 1917. 



222 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Quorum. It is provided by the Constitution that a 
majority of each House shall constitute a quorum, but a 
smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may 
compel the attendance of absent members. There has 
been some discussion as to whether " a majority of each 
House " means a majority of the whole number that might 
possibly be elected or a majority of those who are actually 
members — in other words, whether vacancies should be 
counted. The view has generally been held that they 
should not. In case there is no quorum, and fifteen mem- 
bers and the Speaker are present, they may proceed to 
compel the attendance of absentees by closing the doors 
of the House, calling the roll, noting the absent mcml>< 
and then by a majority vote of those present authorizing 
the sergeant at arms to arrest and bring into the House 
such members as have no sufficient excuse for absence 4 . 

Procedure. Each House is given the power of determin- 
ing its own rules of procedure and of enforcing them by 
punishing disorderly members even to the extent of ex- 
pelling them, but the concurrence of two thirds of the 
House is necessary for expulsion. In order that the public 
may be kept informed of the proceedings of Congress, each 
House is required to keep a journal and to publish it from 
time to time, " excepting such parts as may in their judg- 
ment require secrecy. " The debates, however, are pub- 
lished daily in the Congressional Record, not in the journal. 

Adjournment. In the matter of adjournment the Con- 
stitution provides that " neither House, during the session 
of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two Houses shall be sitting.' ' This provision 
is designed to prevent the blocking of legislation by the 
adjournment of one of the Houses. If the two Houses can 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 223 

come to no agreement as to the time of adjournment, the 
president may adjourn them to such time as he deems 
proper. 

Comparison with Congress of the Confederation. We 
have already noted the significance of some of the differ- 
ences between the Congress created by the Articles of Con- 
federation and that created by the Constitution. It may 
be well here to summarize briefly the chief differences in 
the organization of the two bodies. 

The C\)ngress of the Confederation consisted of a 
-ingle House; that created by the Constitution consists 
of two Hous 

(2) Under the Confederation each state was entitled to 
representation through delegates ranging from two to 
seven in number ; under the Constitution members are 
apportioned according to population in the House, and by 
States in the Senate, two for each state. 

(3) Under the Confederation the terms of delegates were 

ar in length; under the Constitution representatives 
v two war-, senators six. 

(4) Under the Confederation delegates were chosen from 

tlie legislature of the state might direct; 
under the Constitution representatives and senators are 
by the people. 

(5) \ ' d< r the Confederation each state bad but a single 

l matter what the number of delegates; under the 

u 1) senator and representative has his in- 
dividual that is, Ohio 24, New York 45, etc. , 

I der the Confederation the salaries of delegates 

by the under the Constitution they are 



224 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Library References. Macy, chap, xxxiii, pp. 211-217; Mary. 
First Lessons, chap, xvii; Dawes, chap, ii, pp. 119-127, 139-141 ; 
Bryce, Vol. I, chaps, x, xii-xiii, xix ; Hinsdale, chaps, xvii-xx, xxiii ; 
Wilson, §§ 1054-1061, 1064-1073 ; Federalist; Madison, Journal of 
Convention; Fiske, pp. 220-228; Harrison, chaps, i i — i 1 1 ; Curtis, 
Vol. I, chaps, xxii-xxiii, xxv ; Wilson. Congressional Government, 
pp. 219-230; Dole, chap, xii ; Alton, chaps, ii-iii. viii ; Lalor, Articles 
on Gerrymander, Senate, House of Representatives ; Woodburn, pp. 
196-210, 214-222, 230-231, 239-243, 246-255. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Describe the legislative department of the national 
government. 

2. Why was it thought best to have Congress consist of 
two Houses? What are the advantages of having two branches 
in Congress? 

3. Give in substance the provision of the Constitution in 
reference to apportionment of representatives. 

4. How is the number of members composing the House 
of Representatives determined? State the number composing 
the present House. When may this number be increased? 

5. What state has the largest number o\ members in the 
House of Representatives? Why? 

6. How are members of the lower House elected? 

7. State the qualifications required for membership in the 
House of Representatives, and explain the importance of two 
of these requirements. 

8. How long is the term of office of a member of the House 
of Representatives ? 

9. How are vacancies in the office of representative filled ? 

10. Define bribery. 

11. Mention the principal duties of the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives. 

12. State the basis of representation in (1) the Senate; 
(2) the House of Representatives. Why this difference? 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION 225 

13. State the conditions of eligibility to the office of senator. 

14. Give with respect to a senator (1) length of term; 
2 minimum age; (3) salary; (4) duties. 

15. One third of the members of the Senate are chosen once 
in two years. Give reasons for the gradual change in member- 
ship. 

16. Explain why the Constitution provides that the term of a 
member of the House of Representatives shall be shorter than the 
term oi a senator. 

17. How are senators elected? By what amendment was 
this secured? Give the principal arguments for and against 

lection of senators by direct vote of the people. 

18. State how the president pro tempore of the Senate is 
-en, and mention one duty. 

19. How do the two Houses of Congress differ as to the way 
in which the presiding officer is chosen? 

20. Under what circumstances are the presiding officers in 
Congress entitled to vote? 

21. Mention two privileges conferred by the Constitution on 
1 tors and representatives in Congress, and give a reason for 
h provision. 

22. What privilege have members of Congress as to arrest, 
and why is this privilege given them? 

23. II 5 Coi _ 5S meet? 

24. Define "quorum"; "majority": "plurality." What is 
meant by the " Sixty-f ourth Congress"? 

25. En what tS did Congress under the Confederation 
differ l institution ? 

26. Explain the following: "Each Congress exists for two 

27. When may I rident adjourn Congress? Has this 



CHAPTER XX 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS POWERS AND 
LIMITATIONS 

The Taxing Power. When the makers of our Con- 
stitution, in drafting the document, came to assign powers 
to the Congress for which they had provided, they dealt 
first of all with those powers relating to the matter ^i 
money, and they placed at the head of the list the power 
" to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and extis* 
Experience under the Articles of Confederation had taught 
them the absolute necessity of placing the power of taxa- 
tion in the hands of the central government, if it were to 
continue to exist. They had learned that no government 
can in any true sense be a government — that it cannot 
even continue to be — unless it has the power of securing the 
means for its own continuance. This power is to a govern- 
ment what the power of securing food is to an individual 
of the animal world. However highly endowed in other 
respects, if it lacks this, it must soon succumb. The power 
of taxation is the ultimate means through which govern- 
ment accomplishes the objects for which it exists. This 
the framers of the Constitution recognized, for in clothing 
Congress with this power they stated that it was in order 
that it might " pay the debts and provide for the common 
defense and general welfare of the United States. " 

Taxes: Classification. What, then, are these "taxes, 
duties, imposts, and excises " that Congress is empowered to 

226 




Tii: k Dam, Boise, Idaho (above), and One of 

icent Irrigating Canals (below) 

■ vcrnment, h.i\ I fertile 

hundreds of thousands of acres of desert Kind 

227 



228 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

lay and collect? How do they diff it from each other, and how- 
are they laid and collected? "Tax" is the general name 
for money demanded by government for public purp 
from those under its authority. Duties, imposts, and ex- 
cises are all taxes. Taxes are divided Into two general 
classes — direct and indirect. A tax is direct when it is 
paid by the person from whom government demands it — 
for example, poll taxes and taxes on land, property, or 
income. Indirect taxes " are those which are demanded 

from one person in the expectation and intention that he 
shall indemnify himself at the expense ^\ another," that is, 
the}- are Levied on goods before they reach the person who 

uses them, and are paid by him as a part of the price, not 
as a tax. Duties, imposts, and excises are indirect t;r. 

With thc^ exception of an income tax. provided for by the 
Sixteenth Amendment, direct taxes in the 1'nited States 
are levied only by State and municipal governments, the 
revenue for the general government being largely derived 
from indirect taxes; hut Congress has at various times levied 
direct taxes. The reason for the discontinuance of dii 
taxes is that under present constitutional requirements 
direct tax is apt to work injustice to some sections. Con- 
gress may levy an income tax but is forbidden by the Con- 
stitution to lay any other direct tax except in proportion to 
population. If, then, one state has twice as many inhab- 
itants as another, it must pay twice as large a share ^\ any 
direct tax that may be levied. That seems just at first 
sight, but as a matter of fact the state that has twio 
large a population as another has in general more than 
twice as much wealth, so that the tax falls more heavily on 
the less populous states. 

Indirect Taxes: Duties. It is, then, in indirect taxes 
that we are chiefly interested. Duties (also called 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 229 

customs) are taxes laid upon goods exported or imported. 
The term " imposts " is by some writers restricted to duties 
upon imports, but the distinction is not generally made. 
Since Congress is forbidden by the Constitution to tax 
articles exported from any state, duties in the United 
State- are always import duties. They are of two kinds — 
specific and ad valorem. Specific duties are fixed amounts 
of taxation laid upon the unit of measurement of the 
article taxed; that is, the duty is chargeable by quantity, 
weight, or number. .An ad valorem duty is one levied at 
a certain rate per cent on the value of the commodity taxed ; 
that is. the duty is chargeable according to the value of 
the article. Sometimes both a specific and an ad valorem 
duty are levied upon the same article. 

The Tariff. In order that duties may be imposed as 
desired, the government sees to it that a list of goods, 
with the duties to be paid on them, is made out and placed 
in the hands of the proper officials. Such a list is called 
a tariff or a tariff schedule. The term " tariff " is applied 
also to the duties imposed according to such a list (that is, 
to the resulting revenue), as well as to a law regulating im- 
[x >rt duties. Tariff questions have played a very important 
part in the history of the United States, becoming at times 
the main point at issue between the two great political 
part' 5. Such questions arise out of differences of opinion 
to what should be the purpose of government in impos- 
duties. When a duty i- laid upon an imported article, 
the importer -imply increases the price of it sufficiently 
indemnify himself for the amount paid to the govern- 
ment. 1 Thus the price may be increased to such an extent 

1 In * S fol any puip led to the price of the goods 

In fact, b competition between producers in the 

same country, ad- >rt.iti'Mn. and the law of supply and 



230 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

that if the article can be produced in this country at all, it 
will be cheaper to produce it here than to buy it abroad. 
In this way a new industry may be created, or an existing 
one that was in danger of being forced out of existence may 
be enabled to continue. This policy of creating or foster- 
ing home industries by means of the imposition of duties 
is known as the policy of protection, and those who be- 
lieve that it is the duty of government to maintain such a 
policy are called protectionists. Their opponents, the so- 
called free traders, do not generally insist upon a policy 
of absolute free trade. The}' admit that Congress has the 
right to impose duties, but insist that they should be 
for the purpose of producing revenue only. 

Excises. The other kind of taxes through which the 
government obtains revenue for its support is that 
known as excises. These are taxes levied upon the con- 
sumption, sale, or manufacture of commodities within the 
country. The revenue resulting from them is known as 
" internal revenue. " Liquors and tobacco are the commod- 
ities most commonly subjected to this kind of taxation, 
but are by no means the only ones. When it became nec- 
essary, in order to pay the expenses of the Spanish-Ameri- 
can War, for the government to secure additional revenue, 
the list of articles producing internal revenue was greatly 
increased. A tax was levied on bankers and brokers, on 
all sorts of proprietary articles (patent medicines, perfumes, 
etc.), and on legal documents (such as bank checks, tele- 
graph and telephone messages, express receipts, etc.). These 
documentary taxes were collected by requiring that a 
stamp l be affixed to the documents. 

demand so modify the theory that in many cases the price to the consumer 
is equal to or less than the foreign price. 

1 A later instance is the stamp tax of 1914, levied to meet the deficit in 
revenue due to a reduction in imports caused by the European War. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 231 

Collection of Taxes. Considerable expense attaches to 
the collection oi these federal taxes. In order to collect the 
import duties, the government has designated certain places 
along the coasts and other boundaries to be used as ports 
of entry. At these places customhouses are established in 
charge of officials known as collectors of customs, who, 
with their assistants, called inspectors, are charged with 
the duty of examining goods coming into the country and 
assessing the duties upon them according to the existing 
tariff rates. At New York, the principal port of entry in 
the United States, nearly two thousand officers and clerks 
are employed in this work. Besides customhouse em- 
ployees, the government is obliged also to keep in its serv- 
ice a large number of special agents and revenue cutters 
to prevent smuggling, as the illegal importation of duti- 
able commodities is called. The collection of excises 
is under the supervision of the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue, who is the head of one of the bureaus of the 
Treasury Department. The country is divided into revenue 
districts, each district in charge of a collector, whose duty 
it is to see that the laws are enforced in his district. 

The Power to Borrow. Xext after the power of taxa- 
tion, the Constitution places in the hands of Congress the 
<r " to borrow money on the credit of the United 
Stat Under normal conditions every well-regulated 

eminent is able to provide the means for its support 
by the ordinary methods of taxation; but emergencies, 
such as war. requiring suddenly increased expenditures, 
may arise, and the government must then obtain revenue 
either by additional taxation or by borrowing or by both. 

Of all money borrowed by the government must 

ultimately be paid by taxation, so that the two are closely 
mected. Borrowing only shifts a part of the burden 



232 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of taxation to a later date, to the shoulders of a later 
generation in most cases. The ordinary method employed 
by government for borrowing money is the sale of bond-. 
A government bond is the same in nature as a promise 
note given by an individual when he borrows money. It 
is the government's promise to pay a certain sum at a 
certain time, with interest. Sometimes bonds are made pay- 
able at the option of the government after a certain mini- 
mum number of years, but fall due within a certain 
maximum number. The United States government has 
also borrowed money by issuing treasury notes. 'These are 
not really different in character from bonds, but the}' are 
generally smaller in denomination and run for shorter 
periods. A third method is that employed by the gov- 
ernment in the Legal-tender acts of Civil War times. These 
acts really provided for a forced loan from the people. 
Congress authorized the issue of a large number of United 
States notes, which it declared legal tender; that is, this 
money must be accepted in the payment of debt. 

Money: its History. Another important power vested 
in Congress is the power of coining money and regulating its 
value and that of foreign coin. This is not the place to 
enter upon a detailed discussion of the origin and history 
of money. It will be sufficient to note that as soon as 
trade begins to develop, men begin to feel the need for 
some convenient medium of exchange, that is, for some sort 
of money. Different substances have been used for this 
purpose among different peoples at various times, but metals, 
and particularly gold and silver, have been found most 
convenient and have been generally adopted. At first the 
mere bits of metal were used, their value being determined 
by weighing. Later they were wrought into some sort of 
form and marked in some way to indicate their weight ; in 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 233 

other words, they were coined ; but this process, being at 
first in private hands, could give neither uniformity nor as- 
surance of value. Thus governments began to assume this 
function of coinage, and the government stamp became a 
pledge of the value of the coin. 

Power of Coinage. United States Money. At the time 
of the adoption of the Constitution there was no uniform 
monetary system in the country; the money in circulation 
consisted of a variety of foreign coins — Spanish dollars, 
English -hillings, etc. ; and the need Jor uniformity had 
become obvious. This was secured by vesting in Con- 

ss alone the power of coining money and regulating 

value. The actual process of coining money is carried 
on by the government at its mints. Of these the first was 

iblished at Philadelphia in 1792, and this still remains 
the principal one. Since then mints have been established 
at San Francisco, Xew Orleans, Denver, and Carson 
City. The government also maintains a number of assay 
offices — places where gold and silver are brought to be 
tested for the purpose of determining their purity. The coin- 

of money i^ under the direction of one of the bureaus of 
the Treasury Department, known as the United States Mint. 
Th in charge of this bureau is called the director 

of the mint. Gold, silver, nickel, and bronze are the metals 
used in coins. At present the gold coins issued from the 
mints of the United State- arc the double eagle, eagle, half 
gle, and c eagle; the silver coins are the dollar, 

half dollar, quarter dollar, and dime; the minor coins 

and one-cent piece. The gold coins and 
th« been declared legal tender for 

any amount, except when the contract stipulates other- 
smaller silver coins, in sums not exceeding ten 
up to twenty-five i ents. Besides 



234 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

its coins the United States also issues paper money, 
made at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving under the 
direction of the Treasury Department. The kinds of paper 
money now in circulation are United States notes, silver 
certificates, gold certificates, treasury notes of 1890, national 
bank notes, and notes of the Federal Reserve banks. 

Counterfeiting. We have seen that the power of con- 
trolling the monetary system of the country was put into the 
hands of Congress in order that the people might be able to 
count upon its uniformity and the value and genuineness of 
the money issued. To accomplish this fully it was neces- 
sary that another power should be granted to Congress — 
namely, the power " to provide for the punishment of coun- 
terfeiting the securities and current coin of the United 
States." To counterfeit anything is " to make a copy of 
it without authority or right, and with a view to deceive 
or defraud by passing the copy as original or genuine." 
In the matter of money the law regards it as counterfeiting 
either (1) to manufacture, (2) to put into circulation, or 
(3) to have in possession with intent to circulate forged 
coins or securities of the United States. The forged coins 
may be of equal weight and purity with those of the 
government ; they are none the less counterfeit. By the 
term " securities of the United States " is meant the bonds, 
paper money, etc. mentioned above, together with postage 
and revenue stamps. So important is it that the genuine- 
ness of the nation's money should be beyond suspicion, 
that the penalties provided for the offense of counterfeit- 
ing are extraordinarily heavy, and not only the general 
government but the several states have enacted laws for 
its punishment. It is also forbidden to counterfeit within 
the United States the coins, notes, bonds, etc. of foreign 
governments. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 235 

Power to regulate Commerce. It will be remem- 
bered that one of the defects of the Articles of Confederation 
was that they left the control of commerce entirely in the 
hands of the separate states, with what unsatisfactory re- 
sults we have already seen (p. 178). It will be remembered 
also that the Constitutional Convention itself grew out of the 
attempts made through the Alexandria and Annapolis con- 
ventions to solve these difficult commercial problems, and 
that it was only with the greatest reluctance that some of 
the states finally yielded to the general government the 
right to control their commercial relations with other states 
and with foreign nations. This right was finally yielded, 
however, and Congress was given the power " to regulate 
commerce with foreign nations and among the several 
states, and with the Indian tribes." Commerce with the 
Indian tribes was a matter of considerably more impor- 
tance in 1787 than it is now, and its regulation by the 
general government was a practical necessity if frequent 
wars were to be avoided. Foreign and interstate com- 
merce, on the other hand, have so increased in volume, 
and the questions involved have become so complex, that 
it would be now more than ever impossible to leave the 
control of them in the hands of the states. 

Foreign Commerce. In accordance with the above- 
mentioned provision. Congress has enacted a great variety of 
laws for the protection and facilitation of our commerce. 
When the matter of taxation was under discussion (p. 231), 
it was noted that for the purpose of collecting import 
duties the government had designated certain places to be 

I as ports Of entry, and had established customhouses 
at such pi At these ports all vessels are obliged 

nd enter. Before a vessel leaves port the 

is required to .-how that all harbor duties have 



236 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

been paid and all regulations observed. Thereupon the 
collector of customs at that port issues a certificate called 
a " clearance/' and the vessel is free to sail. Upon arrival 
in port, " entry " is accomplished by the master's reporting 
to the collector, presenting a statement of his cargo, and 
delivering the clearance received at his Last port, if he has 
touched at an American port. Congress has also passed 
navigation laws defining the nationality of our ships (that 
is, determining what vessels shall be regarded as Ameri- 
can), the manner of their registration, the privileges that 
shall be granted them, and the conditions under which 
foreign vessels may engage in the commerce of the country. 

Registration, or registry, is the process by which United 

States vessels secure the protection of this government in 
any part of the world. There is issued to the registered 

vessel by the government a document containing a general 
description of the vessel, and this is intended to servt 
a means of identification and a certificate of protection. 
Only vessels owned by citizens of the United States and 
built in this country are registered. 1 Under the authority 
of this provision also Congress has taken measures for the 
protection of shipping by building and maintaining light- 
houses and buoys, providing life-saving stations, improving 
harbors, establishing quarantine regulations, requiring the 
employment of licensed pilots, making coast surveys, etc., 
and has undertaken to regulate immigration into the 
United States. Admission to the country is denied to 
the following classes of persons: the Chinese, convicts, 
insane persons, paupers and those liable to become pauper-. 
polygamists, anarchists, persons afflicted with contagious 
diseases, and laborers under contract to perform labor 

; l In 1914 Congress passed a law admitting foreign-built ships to American 
registry. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 237 

or service in the United Stales, excepting persons en- 
red in the professions and skilled laborers employed in 
the establishment of new industries. The object of these 
restrictions is obviously to bar out those classes of persons 
who. for various reasons, would be likely to constitute an 
undesirable element in the population — thai is, those who, 
because oi some mental, moral, or physical defect, could 
hardly be expected to become desirable citizens and might 
even prove dangerous; those who for economic reasons 
would be objectionable in the eyes of a large proportion 
our own population; and those who, because of wide 
racial differences, could not be easily Americanized. 

Interstate Commerce. Xot less important than the con- 
trol exercised by Congress over foreign commerce is the 
power granted to regulate interstate commerce. In inter- 
state commerce is included not only land traffic between the 
>tau-s. but also coast trade and commerce upon navigable 
rivrr>. In its river and harbor bills, therefore, Congress 
rly makes large appropriations in aid of interstate com- 
merce. The most important piece of legislation in regula- 
<>f interstate commerce ever passed by Congress was 
thelnl Commerce Act of 1887. This was intended to 

relieve the public of some of the evils that had grown up 
in connection with the development of the great railway 
•he country. When the aumerous small compet- 
1 tnsolidated into a few great systems con- 
trol' proportion of all interstate commerce-, 

systems for tin- purpose of 

! passenger rat securing for them- 

>ther unfair a<l\ s, became < omparatively easy. 

The Ii Act was an attempt to remedy 

rd < HI Company, 
k| '903. 



238 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

such evils. Among other things it provided (1) that 
all rates should be reasonable; (2) that there should be 
no unfair discrimination between persons, corporations, or 
localities; (3) that equal facilities should be given to all 
connecting lines ; (4) that the charge for a short haul 
should not be greater than for a long haul under sim- 
ilar conditions; (5) that there should be no pooling 1 
agreements ; and (6) that an Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion should be created to supervise the administration of 
the law. The commission created in accordance with the 
act consists of five persons appointed by the president with 
the consent of the Senate. It has power to investigate all 
cases brought before it, to take testimony, and to render 
decisions; but it cannot enforce its decisions by the in- 
fliction of penalties. That can be done only by regular 
process of the courts, and since conviction is a difficult 
matter, the interstate commerce law has never been fully 
enforced. Nevertheless, the commission has exercised 
great influence in lessening the evils that the law was 
intended to correct. 

Antitrust Law. Another important legislative act 
for the regulation of interstate commerce is the Federal 
Antitrust Law, or Sherman Act, of 1890, making illegal 
" any contract, combination in the form of a trust or other- 
wise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among 
the several states or with foreign nations." A trust is 
a combination of manufacturers in any particular line, 
organized for the purpose of securing greater economy in 
production and preventing some of the losses incident to 

1 Pooling is an arrangement whereby a number of roads turn their 
earnings into a common fund to be distributed among the companies con- 
cerned, in proportions agreed upon beforehand, the object being to remove 
the temptation to cut rates. Sometimes the freight itself is divided among 
the roads in fixed proportions. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 239 

competition. Those who form a trust ordinarily do so with 
the hope of being able to limit the output of the commodity 
and control prices, thus violating the common-law principle 
which forbids any unreasonable restraint of trade. A ma- 
jority of the states have therefore passed laws prohibiting 
such combinations so far as their operations affect trade 
within the state, while the Sherman Antitrust Law attempts 
to secure like protection for commerce between the states 
and with foreign nations. 

Bankruptcy Laws. The right of Congress to establish 
M uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies through- 
out the United States n may likewise be looked upon as a 
power given for the sake of enabling the government to 
afford more effective protection to interstate commerce. 
The power of Congress to pass bankruptcy laws does not 
interfere with the retention of a similar power by the states ; 
it only limits the power of the states in this matter. State 
bankruptcy laws affect only contracts made within the 
State between citizens of the state. Moreover, during the 
existence of a national bankruptcy law, state laws that are 
in conflict with it in any particular are suspended. 

Piracy. Congress is also given the power "to define and 
punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and 
offe :inst the law of nation-." Piracy, or robbery, 

I on the high seas or committed by descent upon 

its from the sea is a menace to commerce and must 
naturally 1 punishable by the same authority whose 

duty it commerce. Felonies committed on 

a against the law ^i nations are 

to do with commerce, and must 
in any be made punishable by the United States, 

A n.iti only the government 

the nation, not that of New York or Ohio. 



2 4 o ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Weights and Measures. The same clause of the Con- 
stitution that gives Congress power to coin money gives it 
authority also to " fix the standard of weights and 
measures." Though this is a matter of considerable 
importance to trade, it was not until 1875 that Congress 
established a Bureau of Weights and Measures, and not 
until 1901 that a law was enacted giving full effect to this 
grant of power by establishing a National Standardizing 
Bureau in the Treasury Department. 

War Powers. We have seen how powerless Con: 
was under the Articles of Confederation to prosecute a vigor- 
ous war. Fortunately, before they went into effect the Rev- 
olution was already drawing to a close ; and although they 
remained the fundamental law of the land, the government 
was not again called upon to face the emergency of war. 
The members of the Constitutional Convention, however, 
realized the danger and remedied the defect of the old gov- 
ernment by granting to the new one ample military pow 
Congress w r as given power 

(1) To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, 
and make rules concerning captures on land and water; 

(2) To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use could be lor a longer term than two years ; 

(3) To provide and maintain a navy; 

(4) To make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces ; 

(5) To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws of the United States, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions ; 

(6) To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be 
employed in the service of the United States, reserving 
to the states respectively the appointment of the officers 









LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 241 

and the authority of training the militia according to the 
discipline prescribed by Congress. 

In addition to these powers Congress was given the right 

(7^ To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso- 
ever in connection with all places purchased, by the consent 
of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, 
tor the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, 
and other needful buildings. 

Declaration of War. When the Constitutional Conven- 
tion came to discuss the question as to where the power to 
declare war should reside, it considered the plan usually 
followed by European nations, of leaving that prerogative 
with the executive. The question was settled, however, 
by adopting what it felt to be the more republican 
as will as the safer principle, of granting this important 
power to the representatives of the people. While a 
formal declaration of war is not a necessary preliminary 
to hostilities, it is usual for a nation to make such a 
declaration. 

Armies. The power to declare war implies as a con- 

uence the power to raise and support armies. Under 

inary circumstances Congress raises armies by enlistment 

(voluntary enrollment), but in case of necessity it may raise 

them and ha- raised them by conscription or draft (forced 

It rests with Congress also to determine the 

rmy and the term for which the men shall serve ; 

to furnish the • applies and equipment ; to build 

for 4 Hals, barrack-, hospitals, etc.; to pro- 

vid< true! ion of officers and men ; to do 

all that ma; d in order to make the army efficient. 

ver. in L r ivinu r Congress this power 

•id supporting armies, t<> impose an important re- 
provided that no appropriations for this 



242 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW VoRK 

purpose should run for a longer term than two years. This 
keeps the army strictly dependent upon the people for its 
existence and support and enables the people to control 
the military policy of the country. 

The Regular Army. The policy of the United States has 
been to keep the army small, relying upon the militia for 
defense in emergencies. Fear of the possible power of the 
army, our geographical position, and our nonparticipation in 
world politics are the reasons for this policy. Prior t 
the army could not exceed 27,000 enlisted men. In that 
year Congress increased the number to 05,000. In 1901 the 
maximum was raised to 100,000, and in [916 to 2II,000. 1 
•Our former policy concerning world politics has changed, 
owing largely to the conditions growing out of the Spanish- 
American War. Our insular possessions, our rapid inert 
in population, our commercial expansion, and the changed 
conditions in Europe demand an army and a navy equal to 
the task of defending the rights of our people and of repelling 
invasion. In times of peace the army is organized into divi- 
sions and brigades. In times of actual or threatened hostili- 
ties the president may organize these into army corps, or 
armies. A division is made up of three or more brigades 
brigade, of three or more regiments ; a regiment, if infantry, 2 
of twelve companies, if cavalry, of twelve troops, if artillery, 
of as manv battalions as the president may determine. The 
president is commander-in-chief (ex-officio), but the actual 
operations of the army are directed by a general. A division 
is commanded by a major-general, a brigade by a brigadier- 
general, a regiment by a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and 

1 On January I, 191S, our army consisted of 1.4S7.000 officers and men. 

2 For the World War an infantry regiment consists of the following com- 
panies : headquarters, 303 men; supply. 140 men; machine-gun. [78 men J 
medical, 56 men; and twelve rifle. 256 men. Total strength, 3755 officers 
and men. There are three battalions composed of four rifle companies each. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWE] - 243 

three majors, a company or troop by a captain and first and 
»nd lieutenants. Noncommissioned ofl re first s 

geant, and corporal. The general staff prep;, 
plans for national defense and for mobilization. 

The Militia. Supplementing the regular army is . the 
militia. This is made up of all able-bodied male citizens 
between th s - teen and forty-five. It is partly 

organized and partly unorganized. The organized portion, 
known as the national guard, is regularly equipped, drilled, 
and officered ; but this work is done by the states accord- 
l to the discipline prescribed by Congress, and the choice 
of all regimental officers of the militia is left to the several 
are needed "to suppress insurrections 
or repel invasions," the president issues a call to the gov- 
ernors of the - vho thereupon furnish the necessary 
troops. They then become a part of the military force of the 
United States and are subject to the same discipline as the 
.alar army. Seven times the militia has been called out : 
during the Whisky Rebellion, the War of 1 8 1 2, the Civil War, 
the Spanish-American War, to suppress the Philippine insur- 
. to guard the Mexican border, and in the World War. 
The Navy. For many years before 1883 the United 
- compared with the navies of the Old World, 
»nly for a short period during and 
immediately after the Civil War was it maintained in any- 
thing like <>f efficiency. Duri I quarter 
a century, however, the rapid :on of our commercial 
and political r with distant parts 

suited in the buildir :n navy. The 

lild and maintain a navy im- 
pli; irsc, tl. do whatever may be necess 

1 50,000 officers and men 
and 50.000 marines, making it (probably) second on, | Britain. 



244 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

to make it efficient — to enroll seamen, construct vessels, 
establish navy yards and docks, furnish supplies and muni- 
tions, and provide for the instruction of officers and men in 
schools or otherwise. In some states a naval militia has 
been organized, which, if called into service in time of war, 
mans vessels for the defense of the harbors, thus freeing the 
regular naval force for other duties. In the navy the off 
of admiral and vice admiral correspond to that of general 
in the army ; that is, they are honorary offices, for neither of 
them is permanently maintained. The office of rear admiral 
corresponds to that of lieutenant general in the army. The 
other officers are commodores, captains, commanders, lieu- 
tenant commanders, lieutenant-, lieutenants junior grade, 
ensigns, and naval cadets. 

Military Law and Courts. To Congress also is assigned 
the duty of making rules for the government and regula- 
tions for the land and naval force-. Accordingly there 
has been enacted a code called the " military law." prescrib- 
ing tactics and arrangement of troops, classifying offio 
and men, regulating their pay, defining military and naval 
offenses, and providing for their punishment by mean- 
special tribunals called courts-martial (military cour; 
whose jurisdiction and procedure it establishes. 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal ; Captures. It will 
be noticed that the same clause that gives Congress power 
to declare war gives it also the power to " grant letters of 
marque and reprisal and make rules concerning captures 
on land and water." Letters of marque and reprisal are 
permits issued by the government of a state in time of war 
to vessels owned and officered by private persons, giving 
them the privilege of seizing the property of the enemy 
wherever found. Such vessels are called privateers and 
have in past wars wrought great injury to commerce. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 245 

When our Constitution was framed, the custom of grant- 
ing letters of marque and reprisal was general, but in 
5 i an agreement was entered into by most of the great 
European powers that privateering should be abolished. 
Neither Spain nor the United States was a party to this 
agreement, and at the breaking out of the Spanish-American 
War the question of permitting privateering came up. Our 
government decided to observe the agreement of 1856. 
Spain, on the other hand, declared in favor of granting 
letters of marque and reprisal, though none were actually 
granted. It seems hardly likely that our government will 
ever again resort to this method of naval warfare. The 
rules laid down by Congress in regard to captures are 
briefly as follows : captures on land are the property of the 
eminent ; captures on the water are sold. If the 
captured vessel is superior or equal in rank to the vessel 
making the capture, the proceeds are divided among the 
victorious crew according to the pay of each; if the cap- 
tured vessel is of inferior rank, half the proceeds go to the 
government, the rest to the crew. 

Military Property. We have already seen that in pro- 
viding and maintaining an efficient army and navy, Con- 
I of a large amount of military property, 
such as forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, etc. Over 
all places purchased from the states for the purpose of 
h structures or any other necessary buildings, 
ss is of necessity given the right to exercise exclusive 
ion. No matter in what state they may be located, 
the; ever subject to state law, except thai the states 

usually the right to serve civil and criminal writs on 

within the < eded territory. 
Miscellaneous Powers: Naturalization. Besides the 
granted to Congress in matters relating to money. 



246 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

commerce, and war, the Constitution also confers upon it a 
number of other powers not easily capable of classification. 
One of these is the power " to establish a uniform rule of 
naturalization." " Naturalization " is the term applied to the 
process by which persons who have been citizens of one 
country become citizens of another. Before the adoption 
of the Constitution each state made its own naturalization 
laws, without much regard to the rules existing in other 
states. The natural result was confusion, which was rem- 
edied by giving this power into the hands of the general 
government. Until the passage of the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment to the Constitution some question existed as to what 
constituted citizenship in the United States. That amend- 
ment settles the question by declaring that ll all persons 
born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to 
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the state wherein they reside." All other residents 
of the United States are aliens. 

Naturalization Laws. Since the adoption of the Con- 
stitution, Congress has passed several naturalization laws. 
The present law requires that the alien who desires to be- 
come a citizen must appear before a court of record at U 
two years before admission to citizenship, and there declare 
on oath his intention to become a citizen and to renounce 
his allegiance to any other government. This declaration 
is then recorded, and the applicant is furnished with a copy 
of the record. Two years later the applicant for citizenship 
must appear in open court, must furnish proof that he has 
resided continuously in the United States for five years, 
and in the state or territory where the court is held for at 
least one year, and that he has behaved as a man of good 
moral character. He must then take an oath to sup- 
port the constitution of the United States and renounce 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 247 

allegiance to any foreign government. If he has held any 
foreign title or order of nobility, it must be renounced. 
These facts are then recorded and a certificate of naturaliza- 
tion is granted. The wife and minor children of a natu- 
ralized citizen become citizens through his naturalization. 
Minor children take the citizenship of their parents. 
Thus children born abroad to citizens of the United States, 
either native born or naturalized, are American citizens. 
Xaturalization is denied to Chinese. 

Postal Service. Another of the miscellaneous powers be- 
longing to Congress is the power lk to establish post offices and 
post roads." In granting this authority the Constitutional 
Convention was simply continuing a power that had already 
been delegated to the general government by the Articles of 
Confederation. The postal sendee is ; indeed, so obviously 
a matter that can be better managed by the general govern- 
ment than by the states, that it is not surprising that it 
aroused little discussion. The members of the convention 
seem not to have foreseen, however, how vast and important 
an enterprise the postal system of the United States was to 
become. The Federalist, discussing this matter very briefly, 
says, as if half apologizing for troubling the general govern- 
ment with so unimportant a business, " Nothing which tends 
b > facilitate the intercourse between the states can be deemed 
unworthy of the public care." We shall not, perhaps, be 
surprised at this attitude if we remember that in 1790 there 

re in the United States only 75 post offices and 1S75 
miles of mail routes, and that the total postal revenue was 
only $37,935 ; while in 191 5 there were nearly 56,380 post 
more than 433,334 miles of mail routes, a revenue 
of $287,248,165, and an expenditure of $298,546,026. The 
United States does not attempt to make its postal system 
a profit, the policy having been for the last half century 



248 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

and more to conduct it simply on an expense-paying ba 
As a matter of fact, during most of that period the annual 
expenditures have been greater than the revenue. Since 
1870 there has been every year except five a deficit, that of 
1909 amounting to nearly eighteen million dollars. The 
law defines as post roads " all letter-carrier routes in towns 
and cities, all railroads and canals, and all the waters of 
the United States during the time mail is carried thereon." 
Copyrights and Patents. The authority to issue copy- 
rights and patents is another power given to Congress, the 
purpose assigned in the Constitution itself being " to pro- 
mote the progress of science and useful arts." Copyright 
may be defined as the grant, by a government to the author 
of an intellectual production (book, painting, sculpture, de- 
sign, photograph, musical composition, etc. I, of the exclusive 
right for a limited time to multiply and dispose oi copies 
it. A person desiring to secure a copyright on such a pro- 
duction sends to the copyright office immediately after pub- 
lication two copies containing the copyright notice, in the 
case of a book or similar publication, and in case of a work 
of art, a photograph. A Eee of one dollar must be paid to 
the register of copyrights for recording the title and furnish- 
ing a certificate of such record. If the production i 
photograph and no certificate is required, the fee is fifty 
cents. Lectures and other oral addresses, dramatic and 
musical compositions, not reproduced for sale, ma}- be copy- 
righted by paying one dollar and filing one complete copy. 
A copyright runs for a period of twenty-eight years and is 
renewable for twenty-eight more. A patent is the grant, by 
a government to the author of a new and useful invention, 
of the sole right to make and sell it for a limited term. The 
inventor who desires a patent must, in his application to the 
Commissioner of Patents, declare under oath that he belie 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 249 

himself to be the real author of the invention ; must file in 
the patent office a full description of the article, together 
with drawings and possibly a model ; and must pay a fee 
of $15 on filing his application, and an additional $20 if the 
patent be allowed. A patent holds for a term of seven- 
teen years, and may be renewed for a term of seven years 
by the Commissioner of Patents or by act of Congress, 
provided, however, that the inventor has not received an 
adequate money return. 

The National Capital. By the same clause of the Con- 
stitution which gave Congress power to control all places 
purchased for the erection of forts, magazines, etc., power 
- also conferred upon it to " exercise exclusive legislation 
. . . over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as 
may. by cession of particular states and the acceptance of 
Congress, become the seat of the government of the United 
Statu-." The need for such a provision had been shown 
by an unpleasant experience suffered in Philadelphia by the 
Congress of the Confederation at the hands of an unpaid por- 
tion of the Revolutionary troops in 1783. The failure of 
the state government to afford the protection asked for had 
made it clear that the federal legislature must be given the 
power to protect itself and the seat of the federal govern- 
ment from the possibility of a repetition of such insults. 
From 1 785 to 1790 Xew York was the national capital. In 
o the seat of government was transferred to Philadelphia, 
where it remained until 1800, when it was permanently 
located in the District of Columbia. This was a piece of 
territory, originally ten miles square, lying along the Poto- 
mac, which was ceded to the United States by the states of 
ryland and Virginia to be used as the seal of the national 
-eminent About thirty square miles on the right bank 
the river were afterward receded to Virginia. 



2 so ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Government of the District is provided for en- 
tirely by the federal authorities, the people having no 
political rights. The executive officers are three commis- 
sioners, two of whom are appointed for three years by the 
president with the consent of the Senate, and one detailed 
from the corps of engineers of the United States army by 
the president to serve during his pleasure. They have gen- 
eral charge of municipal affairs, providing for the policing 
of the District, fire protection, education, etc. All officers 
other than the three commissioners are appointed by the 
president. The commissioners have the power to recom- 
mend needed legislation, but Congress is the Legislative 
body of the District, and all bills relating to it are passed in 
the regular manner. Congress pays one half the expenses 
for the government of the territory ; the other half is met by 
taxation of the inhabitants. The judicial power of the Dis- 
trict is vested in a court of appeals (consisting of a chief 
justice and two associate justices), a supreme court (con- 
sisting of a chief justice and four associate justices), 
justice courts, a police court, and a juvenile court. 

The Government of Territories. Closely allied to this 
special power granted to Congress, to govern the territory in 
which is located the seat of the federal government, is the 
power granted it in another article of the Constitution, " to 
dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing the territory or other property belonging to the United 
States. " It is from this provision that Congress derives 
the authority to govern its territories. We have already 
seen that before the adoption of the Constitution the vast 
tract of land known as the Northwest Territory, the dif- 
ferent portions of which were claimed by several of the 
states, had been ceded by those states to the general gov- 
ernment. Following these cessions the Congress of the 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 251 

Confederation passed the act known as the Ordinance of 1787, 
providing a government for this vast public domain — an 
act that has been called " the most important piece of gen- 
eral legislation of the Confederation epoch. " It is certain 
that Congress under the Articles of Confederation had no 
power to pass such an ordinance, and many writers have 
declared it of no effect. It matters little now, for the 
first Congress that assembled under the Constitution, hav- 
ing been given the authority to pass such legislation, 
reenacted the ordinance, which has ever since furnished 
the model upon which the territories of the United States 
have been organized. 

Organized and Unorganized Territories. The Spanish- 
American War, resulting as it did in the acquisition by the 
United States of a number of insular possessions, most of 
them containing a population very different in character 
from that of the states and other territories, has very con- 
siderably complicated the problems of territorial govern- 
ment. Previous to that war the territories were simply 
divided into two classes — organized and unorganized. 
In the organized territories of Hawaii and Porto Rico the 
government conforms, with slight variations, to the 
following type. There are the three departments of 

1 rnment, — legislative, executive, and judicial, — with 
similar duties performed by corresponding departments of 
State governments. The executive department consists of a 

• rnor, appointed by the president with the consent of 
the Senate for a term of four years ; a secretary, similarly 
appointed ; a treasurer, an auditor, and usually a su- 
perintendent of public instruction, appointed by the 
governor. The governor is ex officio commander of the 
militia. He has a veto power over the acts of the legisla- 
ture, but his veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote 



252 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of the house. He makes annual reports to the president 
and sends a message to the territorial legislature. The legis- 
lature consists of two houses, — a council and a house of 
representatives, — elected for a term of two years by the 
voters of the territory, voting in districts. The sessions 
are biennial and limited to sixty days. The sphere of 
legislation is nearly as wide as that of the state legislatui 
but Congress has the power to annul or modify any act, 
thus controlling the internal affairs of the territory. The 
people of the territory send to Congress a delegate who has 
the privilege of debate but no vote. The judicial depart- 
ment consists of a supreme court of three or more judges 
appointed for a term of four years by the president with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. In 1912, CongI 
provided for a legislature in Alaska, consisting of two hou 
and meeting biennially. Thus the lasl of our territ<< 
except our smaller island possessions has been organized. 

Territories: a New Classification. Since the Spanish- 
American War a decision of the Supreme Court has practi- 
cally established a new classification for the territori 
According to this decision there are (1 | those constituting 
"a part of " the United States, and (2) those kk belonging 
to " the United States. To the first class belongs Alaska ; 
to the second belong Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Philippines, 
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Samoan possessions of 
the United States. Hawaii and Porto Rico have been given 
organized territorial governments conforming in a general 
way to the type existing in the organized territories con- 
stituting "a part of" the United States. Hawaii is "an 
integral part " of the United States according to the treaty 
of annexation. The other territories "belonging to" the 
United States are variously governed by the military or naval 
authorities or by special commissions. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 253 

Power to Establish Courts. One other specific power 
the Constitution intrusts to Congress — namely, the power 
11 to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court." In 
accordance with this grant of power Congress created, by 
the Judiciary Act of 1789, the district and circuit courts 
and defined their functions. In 1855 it established the 
Court of Claims, in 1891 the circuit courts of appeals, 
and abolished circuit courts in 191 1 (see Chapter 
XXIV). 

The Elastic Clause. So far we have been dealing with 
specific powers granted to Congress by the Constitution. 
There remains to be considered a very important clause, 
often called the " elastic clause," conferring upon Congress, 
by a general grant of power, the right to do whatever may 
be necessary and proper for carrying out the provisions of 
the Constitution. The exact wording of the clause is as 
follows: [Congress shall have pow r er] " to make all laws 
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execu- 
tion the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by 
this Constitution in the government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof." It is out of the 
difference of opinion as to the interpretation of this clause 
that the two great schools of constitutional construction 
have arisen : the strict constructionists and the liberal 
constructionists — the defenders of the doctrine of state 
lights and the upholders of the opposing doctrine of implied 
The first insist that the Constitution, and in 
particular this clause of it, should be strictly and narrowly 
-trued, so as to give Congros power to pass only such 
laws as are absolutely aecessary in order to make effective 
the powers expressly granted. The liberal constructionists, 
OB the other hand, maintain that by the phrase " laws which 
shall be necessary and proper " IS meant not only such as 



254 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

are indispensable to the exercise of the powers granted 
Congress, but all such as are in any way conducive to 
their complete execution. The decisions of the Supreme 
Court, when that body has been called upon to settle 
constitutional questions arising under this clause, have 
in general been made on the principle of liberal construction. 

Special Powers of Each House. We come now to the 
consideration of certain special powers granted to each of 
the two Houses of Congress but not to Congress as a whole. 
We have seen that each House is given the power of control- 
ling its own organization and members, but there is given 
to each in addition certain important governmental powers. 
The special powers possessed by the House of Representa- 
tives are three in number: the power to initiate all bills 
for raising revenue, the power of impeachment, and the 
power of electing the president in case no choice is made by 
the electors. The special powers of the Senate are the 
power to ratify treaties and to confirm presidential appoint- 
ments, and the power to act as a court of impeachment. 

The House: Revenue Bills. Doubtless the conven- 
tion, in intrusting only to the House of Representatives this 
power of initiating revenue bills, was largely influenced by 
the practice of England, where for several centuries that 
power had resided in the House of Commons. It was felt 
that the House, being renewed at frequent intervals by pop- 
ular election and thus standing more closely in touch with 
the people than could the Senate, ought to be given control 
of the power of taxing the people. But the convention was 
influenced also by a less theoretical reason. The larger 
states, fearful that they might be unfairly taxed if the Senate 
were given equal powers with the House in this matter, de- 
manded this provision as a protection and also as a compen- 
sation for having yielded to the Senate the right to ratify 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 255 

treaties and to try impeachments. By the same clause, 
however, the Senate is given the power to propose or concur 
with amendments to revenue bills — a power of which it 
avails itself so freely that most money bills, whether for 
raising revenue or expending it, are finally passed only by 
means of conference and compromise between the two 
Houses. There is no constitutional provision that appro- 
priation bills i^bills for the expenditure of money) should 
originate in the House, but as a matter of custom the im- 
portant general appropriation bills do originate there. 

The House: Impeachment. In placing the power of 
impeachment (bringing charges of official misconduct 
against an official) solely in the hands of the House of 
Representatives the convention was again borrowing in- 
directly from English practice through the state constitu- 
tions. According to the Constitution the persons who- 
may be impeached are the president, the vice president, 
and all civil officers of the United States, the term " civil 
officer s " being used here in distinction from military and 
naval officers, who are subject to military law and whose 
offei re tried by courts-martial. Since offending 

senators and representatives may be expelled by a two- 
third- vote of their respective Houses, it has been deemed 
unn y to impeach them. The offenses for which 

officer- may be impeached are " treason, bribery, or 
other high 1 md misdemeanors," but the exact mean- 

of the last phrase has never been accurately determined. 
Since the adoption of the Constitution there have been 
nine impeachment trials and three conviction-. 

The House: Presidential Election. The election of 

the president by the House of Representatives has occurred 

twice — in the case of Jefferson in 1801 and of John Quincy 

uns in 1825. In assigning this power to the House of 



256 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

.Representatives the convention, mindful of the fact that 
large executive powers (the confirmation of presidential 
• appointments and the ratification of treaties) had been 
given to the Senate, felt that that body should have no 
voice in the appointment of the executive. 

The Senate: Executive Powers. Of the special powers 
of the Senate the two just mentioned (the ratification 
of treaties and the confirmation of appointments) are 
executive in their nature; the third (the power to act as 
a court of impeachment) is judicial. Though the Senate 
was created as a part of the federal Legislature, it was at first 
looked upon principally as an executive body. Hamilton, 
in The Federalist* speaks of the executive power as divided 
between the president and the Senate ; and the Senate for 
the first five years of its existence conducted itself as an ex- 
ecutive body, holding its sessions in secret until 1 794. The 
senators looked upon themselves to a great extent as am- 
bassadors from the states, and the president and cabinet 
officers sometimes consulted in person with the Senate. Not 
until after the creation of its standing committees in 1816 
did it become coordinate with the House in legislation. At 
present we think of the Senate as primarily a legislative 
body, but it may at any moment turn itself into an execu- 
tive body by going into " executive session." This it does 
when the subject under discussion is the confirmation of ap- 
pointments or the ratification of treaties. As a matter of 
fact, though the penalty for disclosing what goes on behind 
the closed doors of the Senate is expulsion, it has been found 
very difficult to maintain secrecy, particularly in the matter 
of the confirmation of appointments. For this reason there 
has been some agitation in favor of abandoning the 
secret session. 

1 The Federalist, Nos. 64-66. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 257 

The Senate: Working of these Powers. It was the 
purpose of the convention, in giving these powers into the 
hands of the Senate, to impose a check upon the power of 
the president. This it certainly does to some extent, 
though it is questioned whether the imposition of this 
check has operated entirely in the interests of good govern- 
ment. The participation of the Senate in the treaty-making 
power, reducing as it does the difficulties always experienced 
by popular governments in dealing with foreign affairs, has 
generally been approved by critics of our political arrange- 
ments, though even here the requirement of a two-thirds- 
vote for ratification has been criticized as giving too much 
power into the hands of a troublesome minority. Such a 
minority, intent upon party or local rather than upon 
national interests, may find it possible to postpone indefi- 
nitely or prevent altogether the settlement of important 
foreign affairs. The value of the other executive function 
intrusted to the Senate (the power of confirming presiden- 
tial appointments) is in general more seriously questioned. 
It i> as-erted that the arrangement does not in practice 
prevent abuses of the president's appointing power; that 
if the president and the majority in the Senate are of the 
same party, the appointments are arranged between them 
and the real object of the provision is defeated; that if 
they are of opposite parties, the Senate con linns the 
w<»r>t appointments in order to subject the president to 
tile criticism in the next political campaign. 

The Senate: Judicial Function. The only judicial 
Function of the Senate i- to ad a- a court for the trial of 
impeachment cases. The method of procedure is as 
follows The charges against the officer impeached are 

preferred, as we have alread\' seen, by the House 

.hieh prepares articles of impeachment, 



258 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

corresponding to the indictment in ordinary criminal trials. 
The House then chooses by ballot a number of managers 
to conduct the case before the Senate. The Senate organizes 
for this purpose by putting its members under oath to 
conduct the trial impartially. If the president is being 
tried, the chief justice acts as presiding officer; in other 
cases, the president or president pro tempore of the Senate. 
A two-thirds vote of the members is required for convic- 
tion, the object being to prevent the use of impeachment 
for party purposes. The accused may appear in person 
or through counsel, witnesses are examined, evidence 
taken, and the Senate then deliberates in secret session. 
In case of conviction the only punishment that the Senate 
has power to impose is removal from office and disqualifica- 
tion for further official service under the United State-. 
but the officer is still liable to trial before the ordinary 
courts if he has committed any crime. During the trial 
the accused may continue his regular duties. In case 
conviction the president cannot exercise his pardoning 
power. This power of trying impeachment cases was 
not granted to the Senate by the convention without 
objections, but the objections then urged have proved 
groundless. 

Limitations upon Congress : Taxation. So far we 
have been dealing with the powers granted to Congress as a 
whole and with the special powers granted to the separate 
Houses. We come now to some limitations imposed upon 
Congress by the Constitution — the things which Congress 
may not do. The restrictions laid upon Congress in the 
matter of taxation are two : (1) it may lay no capitation 
or other direct l tax except in proportion to the census ; 

1 This restriction, however, was modified by the adoption of tilt 
teenth Amendment, which gives Congress the right to tax incomes. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 259 

it may lay no tax or duty on exports. If a direct tax 

IS levied, it must be in proportion to population; that is, 
the amount of revenue to be collected by the tax must be 
determined, and this must then be apportioned among 
state- according to population. 1 The prohibition laid 
upon Congress in the matter of taxing exports was a practical 
necessity. The extent of the country and the variety of its 

urces make it. and made it even in 17S7, practically 
impossible to lay such a tax without working injustice and 
hardship somewhere. There was, nevertheless, in the 
convention a difference of opinion on this point, several 
holding that the government would be incomplete without 
a power to tax exports as well as imports. 

Commerce. Appropriations. The restrictions imposed 
upon Congress in the matter of commerce relate to the 

e trade and to interstate matters. The provision in 

ird to the slave trade was the result of one of the com- 
promises of the Constitution already noted elsewhere 
(p. 188 . It will be remembered that in the convention 
the delegates from the slave-holding and slave-trading 
objected to giving Congress complete control over 
commerce, lest the economic interests of their states might 
suffer by a too sudden abolition of the slave trade. The 
debate resulted finally in the concession to Congress by 
the slave states of full ultimate control of commerce in 
return for a continuance of the slave trade for a limited 
period. Congress being prohibited from forbidding the 
traffic prior to the year 1808. In regard to interstate affair-. 

Lgress is forbidden to make any regulation that shall 
advantage to the ports of one state over those of 

1 The Supreme Court decided (prior to the Sixteenth Amendment) that 
an income tax is a tax upon the property from which the UK ome ifl derived, 
and is the- .id was unconstitutional (Art. I, $ 9, p. lix). 



260 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

another, or that shall oblige vessels bound to or from one 
state to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. Congress is 
prohibited from drawing money from the national Treasury 
except by means of direct appropriations made by law. 
An appropriation bill states the object for which the 
money is to be used. From time to time a statement of 
the receipts and expenditures must be published. 

Other Restrictions : Habeas Corpus. A few other re- 
strictions are laid upon Congress, with the purpose of secur- 
ing to the citizens of the United State- personal liberty and 
equality. These are the provisions as to the suspen- 
sion of the writ of habeas corpus, in regard to bills oi at- 
tainder and ex post farto laws, relating to titles of nobility, 
etc. The Constitution provides that " the privilege oi the 
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, 
in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety ma}- re- 
quire it." The writ of habeas corpus is ' a guaranty of 
personal liberty as old as Magna Charta." It is a writ 
granted by a court requiring a prisoner to be brought be- 
fore the court in order that the legality of his detention 
may be investigated, and that he may be at once liberated 
if illegally detained. The question as to where the right 
to suspend the writ is lodged was left unsettled by the Con- 
stitution. By judicial decision it has been given to Con- 
gress, but that body may grant the right to the president. 
In the few cases where the writ has been suspended — 
namely, during the Civil War — the power was exercised 
by the president. 

Bills of Attainder: Ex Post Facto Laws. The passing 
of bills of attainder and ex post facto laws is absolutely for- 
bidden by the Constitution. Bills of attainder are special 
legislative acts inflicting capital punishment for high 
offenses, such as treason, without a judicial trial. If the 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 261 

punishment inflicted is less than death, the bill is properly 

' bill of pains and penalties " rather than attainder. 
The ex post facto law is defined by Chief Justice Marshall 
as " one winch renders an act punishable in a manner in 
which it was not punishable when committed." English 
jurists have held that the term applies only to criminal, 
not to civil, law. and the United States Supreme Court has 
taken the same position; but from the discussion that 
took place in the convention concerning this point it would 
m that the framers of the Constitution meant by ex post 
facto laws all that are retroactive. 

Titles of Nobility. Finally. " no title of nobility shall 
be granted by the United States, and no person holding 
any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, 
office, or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince, 
or foreign state." At the time of the adoption of the Con- 
stitution and even much later there existed a general feeling 
of antagonism to titles. They were regarded as inseparable 
from aristocratic and monarchical forms of government, 
and Hamilton called their prohibition the cornerstone 
of republicanism. The last part of the provision was 
rted to preserve foreign mini-tors and United States 
officers from the danger of bribery by foreign governments. 

Library References. Macy. chaps, xxvi-xxvii. xxxviii. xl ; Mary, 
<sons. chaps, xvi-xvii : Dawes, chaps, iii, xv. pp, 129-130, 
146-14^: Hinsdale, chaps, xxi-xxii. xxv-xxvi. pp. 330-333; I > 

Bry< e, Vol. I. 1 haps, ri, xvi-xvii, 

xlvii : V Curtis, 

i-xxvii ; Wils vemmetU, chap, iii, 

230-241 . (hap. xvi. pp. 69- 

i le 00 P( 

:rn, chap. viii. pp. 158-172, 17: -239, 

$05-310. 



262 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Why are the general powers of Congress enumerated in 
the federal constitution, while similar powers of state legis- 
latures are not specified in state constitutions? 

2. State five powers of Congress. 

3. Mention three important powers vested exclusively in 
the House of Representatives, and give the reason in each case. 

4. Has the Senate any executive power? Discuss fully. 

5. State three purposes for which the government may 
properly levy taxes. 

6. Define " taxes." Mention two kinds of taxes and dis- 
cuss the justice of each. 

7. Distinguish between direct and indirect taxes. 

8. What are the sources of the revenue of the general 
government? Does the United States government levy any 
direct tax at the present time? State in substance the 
constitutional provision regarding the apportionment of din 
taxes among the several states. 

9. What are duties? State the manner in which duties 
are collected. What limitation is there to the power- o\ Con- 
gress to levy duties? Give the reason for this limitation. 

10. Distinguish between ad valorem and specific duties. 
Define " tariff " ; " reciprocity." 

11. What is an excise duty? On what articles are excise 
duties now laid ? 

12. Should Congress be given the power to regulate com- 
merce? Give reasons for your answer. 

13. Define " ports of entry." Give the name of one United 
States port of entry on the Atlantic coast and one on the 
Pacific coast. 

14. Show the importance of the power possessed by Congress 
to borrow money on the credit of the United States. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 263 

15. To what extent is immigration now restricted? What 

is the object oi the restrictions? 

16. Show the necessity oi the power possessed by Congress to 
regulate interstate commerce. 

17. Define " bankrupt law." Why is a bankrupt law- 
desirable? 

18. Define " piracy." Show the importance of the power pos- 
sed by Congress to define and punish felonies committed on 

the high seas. 

19. Why is the power to declare war vested in Congress 

alone? 

20. Define " letters of marque " ; " privateer." What name 
is given to property captured in time of war? What disposition 
is made of such property? 

21. What is naturalization? Describe the process by which 
it is secured in this state. Is the process uniform in all the 

states? 

22. Define " alien " ; " citizen." What differences exist in 
the duties, rights, and privileges of aliens, naturalized citizens, 
and natural-born citizens? 

23. What classes of foreigners are refused citizenship in the 
United States? Why? 

24. On what ground has the United States claimed the right 
to interfere when railway traffic has been interrupted by strikes? 

25. What is a copyright and how is it obtained? State for 
how long a time it is issued. State its purpose. May it be 

renewed ? 

26. What is a patent? For how long a term is a patent 

may it be renewed? What is the purpose of 
granting patents ? 

27. Mention the chief peculiarity in the government of the 
ri< t of Columbia. Explain the importance of congressional 

• the District of Columbia. 



264 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

28. In what body is the government of a territory vested? 
What representation has a territory in Congress ? 

29. What is the restriction of the Constitution regarding the 
origin of revenue bills? What is the object of this restriction } 

30. Define " impeachment." What officers of the United 

States are subject to impeachment? 

31. Mention (1) two powers of the Senate not possessed by 
the House of Representatives; (2) one power of the House 

not possessed by the Senate. 

32. What is meant by "executive session"? Which body 
of Congres> holds executive sessions? Mention two purp 

for which executive >ns are held. On what ground is 

their abolition advocated? 

33. Define kk treaty." Show the importance of the pow 
the Senate to ratify or reject treaties made by the president: 

34. Show the importance o\ the power of the Senate to reject 

nominations made by the president. 

35. In whom is vested the power to try case^> of impeachment ? 
Give an account of the national court for the trial of impeach- 
ments as to jurisdiction and method of procedure. 

36. Mention five restrictions imposed on Congress by the 
Constitution. 

37. What application of the constitutional provision regard- 
ing the apportionment of direct taxes was recently made by the 
Supreme Court in regard to the income-tax law? 

38. Give the provision of the Constitution in regard to 
(1) privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, (2) bills for raising 
revenue, (3) drawing of money from the Treasury. 

39. Define " appropriation." Show the importance to the 
people of the constitutional provision regarding appropriations. 

40. Define " writ of habeas corpus." Explain the importance 
of this writ as a protection to the right of personal liberty. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: POWERS 265 

41. Define " bill of attainder." 

42. What is an ex post facto law? Are there any such laws 

in the United States? Give a reason for your answer. 

43. What is meant by "a title oi nobility"? Why does 
the Constitution forbid Congress to grant such a title? 

44. Is an income tax a direct tax under the Constitution? 
State your authority. 

45. By what authority is Congress allowed to lay and collect 
a direct tax upon incomes? 

46. A man being asked to what nation he belonged replied 
that his father was an American, and his mother an English 

: that he was born on an Italian ship, sailing in Spanish 
waters and Hying a French ilag. To what nation did he 
belong? 



CHAPTER XXI 
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 

The Senate Chamber. The work of the national legis- 
lature is carried on in different parts of the Capitol, the 
Senate Chamber occupying a part of the north wing, 
the Chamber of the House of Representatives the south. 
The room occupied by the Senate, naturally much the smaller 
of the two, is rectangular in form, the seats being arranged 
semicircularly, facing the chair of the presiding officer, which 
occupies a raised marble dais at the end of the room. The 
seats are armchairs, each with its desk. Around the four 
sides of the room run galleries, one of which is reserved for 
the president of the United States. The open space back 
of the senators' chairs is furnished with sofas, and into this 
senators may bring visitors. The bare aspect of the walls, 
unbroken by windows (for the room is lighted from above) is 
somewhat relieved by a few pictures. The Democrats 
occupy the right side of the room, the Republicans the left ; 
but because of the semicircular arrangement of the seats 
they face the chair, not each other. 

Chamber of the House. The chamber occupied by the 
House is much larger — so large indeed as to make speak- 
ing there a difficult task. Like the Senate Chamber, it is 
lighted from above and supplied with huge galleries running 
round all four sides and capable of seating 2500 people. 
The seats of the members are arranged in concentric rows 
about the Speaker's marble chair on its raised platform. 

266 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 267 

Below and in front of the Speaker rests the mace, and 
here too are seated the clerks and official stenographers, 
with the sergeant-at-arms to the right. As in the Senate 
Chamber, there is an open space furnished with sofas 
back of the members' seats to which certain visitors are 
admitted. 

Character of Members. In the character of their mem- 
bers the two Houses show a somewhat marked difference, 
the Senate containing a considerably larger proportion of 
men of superior intellectual capacity, political experience, 
and personal dignity. The great majority of the senators 
are successful lawyers, many of whom still practice before 
the Supreme Court ; and there are many ex-governors, ex- 
representatives, ex-state judges, and ex-state legislators. In 
the Senate of the Fifty-eighth Congress there were 20 ex- 
governors, 4 ex-judges, and 33 ex-representatives. Thus 
we have in the Senate a body of men possessed already of 
considerable political training, whose political efficiency is 
sure to be increased by their experience as senators. This 
lot to say that the Senate is made up of men different 
in kind from those in the House. Like the representatives, 
the senators are for the most part active politicians who 
have made their way by means of the ordinary political 
methods ; but the Senate, because it confers on its members 
more power and greater dignity, a longer term of service 
and a more independent position, has proved more attrac- 
tive to men of ability and ambition, and has been able to 
draw to it-elf the ablest of those who have chosen a political 
In the House, as in the Senate, lawyers are numer- 
gh they are for the most part not leaders in their 
profession. The resl are recruited from the ranks of 

the manufacturers, agriculturists, banker.-, and journalists. 

it railroad men, like L r reat lawyers, are rare, and for the 



268 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

same reason. The attractions of a career in the House are 
not sufficient to overcome those of a successful practice at the 
bar or of a great railway business. Unlike the Senate, the 
House of Representatives has few very wealthy members, 
though few are very poor. Taking the House as a whole, it is 
not made up of men of the highest culture or the widest in- 
formation, though there is no lack of character, shrewdness, 
and keen, if limited, intelligence. If they lack breadth of 
view, it is due to lack of opportunity rather than to natural 
incapacity. 

Methods of Legislation. So much for the men by whom 
the work of national legislation is conducted. Let us now 
see something of the methods in use in the making of laws. 
All laws enacted by the national legislature make their 
first appearance in that body in the form of bills. A bill 
is simply a form or draft of a proposed law, and may be 
very radically changed before it is finally enacted. The 
Constitution provides for three ways in which a bill, once 
introduced into the Congress, may become a law: (i) It 
may be passed by a majority of both Houses and signed by 
the president. This is the normal way. (2) It may, 
however, after passing both Houses, meet with the disap- 
proval of the president. Thereupon it is returned without 
his signature to the House in which it originated, his objec- 
tions are entered upon the journal, the bill is reconsidered, 
and may be repassed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses, the 
vote being taken by yeas and nays. It then becomes a law 
without the president's signature. (3) It may be passed 
by a majority of both Houses and sent to the president, who 
may neglect to return it within ten days, Sundays excepted. 
In that case also it becomes a law without the president's 
signature, unless Congress adjourns in the meantime. The 
Constitution does not, however, attempt to lay down rules 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 269 

to the means by which Congress shall accomplish the 

work intrusted to it. That body having been created, and 
its powers and limitations clearly defined, it is left to work 
out its own salvation and evolve its own methods. As the 
field o\ legislation has grown wider and more complicated 
with the growth of the nation, the methods of dealing with 
it have also grown more complex, so that we cannot hope 
here to follow them in detail. We must be content if we 
can understand clearly the more important features of our 
stem o\ legislation. 

Stages of a House Bill. 1 In order that a bill may be 
enacted into law it must pass through the following stage- : 
Eirst. it must be introduced. If it is introduced in the 
House, this is done by handing it to the Speaker or laying 
it on his desk in case it is a public bill, or by handing it to 
the clerk of the House in case it is a private bill. When 
hed in the order of business, the bill is read for the first 
time by title only and is then referred by the Speaker to 
its proper committee. In the committee the bill comes up 
for discussion, after which the committee may decide 
not to report it at all, to report it so late in the session that 
DO action can be taken upon it, to report it adversely, or to 
report it favorably. If the bill is dropped in committee, it 
: course " killed " without actually reaching the House 
11. If it is reported adversely by the committee, it is 
usually dropped by the House without debate, so that in 

'In the Senate the method of procedure is as follows: Each morning 

the presiding officer of the Senate (all- for the presentation <>f bill-, re-olu- 

:.d the senators, each as he : >L r niti<»n, 

present such hill- a- they may de-ire. In presenting a petition the senator 

Stat< -!>ort and a-k- it- reference t<> the appropriate commit 

When a hill i- offered, '1 by a page to the clerk's desk, the title 

rdend by the presiding officer, unless 

the Senat. te, itself direct- the n 



270 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

general only those bills that are reported favorably by the 
committees are actually considered by the House. When re- 
ported, the bill is read a second time, this time in full, and is 
then placed on the calendar. This does not necessarily mean 
that it will come up at some definite time for further con- 
sideration. It may never get farther than the calendar, its 
fate depending less upon its importance than upon the skill 
and energy of the member who has it in charge. If a bill 
succeeds in reaching a third reading, it is read by title only, 
unless a reading in full is demanded. The question i> then 
put, " Shall the bill pass? " and the debate fellows. When 
the " previous question " is called for, the debate i> closed 
by the member reporting the bill, and the vote is taken. 

If the bill passes the House, it is signed by the Speaker 
and the clerk and is then taken to the Senate. Here it is 
at once referred by the presiding officer to its appropriate 
committee, after which it passes through practically the 
same stages as in the House. If it passes the Senate un- 
amended, it goes to the president for his signature; but 
either House has the power of amending the bills of the other, 
and an amended bill must be returned to the House in which 
it originated, and the amendment must be accepted before 
it can be regarded as passed by the two Houses. In case 
either House refuses to accept an amendment of the other, 
the bill fails to become a law; or a conference committee 
is appointed, consisting of members from the Senate and 
House committees concerned with the bill, and a compro- 
mise may be agreed upon. The different methods of dis- 
posing of bills that have passed both Houses of Congi 
have already been considered (p. 268). 

The Committee System. The process of legislation thus 
described seems comparatively simple; as a matter of 
fact there is much here requiring explanation and comment. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 271 

Let us look first at the committee system. It is almost in- 
evitable that when a great nation like our own vests its 
lawmaking power in a representative body, that body, if 
it is truly representative, should attain very considerable 
size. One of the most difficult problems of representative 
eminent is this one of getting large assemblies to per- 
form the work of legislation promptly and efficiently. Two 
plans for solving the problem have been worked out. One 
is the plan of having the majority party in the legislative 
body appoint a small committee of leaders to draft the 
necessary measures, which are then adopted and intrusted 
to this group of leaders for execution. These leaders are 
held responsible. If their measures meet with the approval 
of the people, they can count on retaining the support of 
the majority in the representative body ; if not, the oppos- 
ing minority will become a majority, and a new group of 
leaders will be substituted. This is in brief the English plan 
of solving the problem — the cabinet, or ministerial, system 
of government. The other is the plan of dividing the 
legislative body into a number of small groups, each with its 
own held of action and each independent of the rest, the 
legislative body as a whole having the power either to adopt 
or reject the suggestions of the groups in regard to the 
matters intrusted to them. This is the congressional plan 
rnment, the committee system, by which our legis- 
lature accomplishes its work. 

The Committees. 1 It is impossible here to review the 
history of the committee system in the United State-, inter- 

ing as it is. A description of it a- it exists and works 
at present must suffice. In 1916 there wen- in tlie Souse of 
entatives fifty-eight regular committees, each consti- 
tuting what Senator Hoar has called a " little legislature/ 1 
1 See Congressional Din .\'> edition, p. 



272 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

so far as the management of its own particular business is 
concerned. In addition to these the House may at any 
time create select committees for special purposes, such as 
the conference committee, mentioned above, for the purp* 
of conferring with a like committee from the Senate. The 
House may also at any time go into " committee of the 
whole " ; that is, the House may resolve itself into a com- 
mittee, in order to debate more freely some measure pending. 
When this is done, the Speaker calls some other member 
to the chair, and the special rules of the House are suspended. 
By far the greatest part of the work of Congress is done 
in the regular standing committees, to which all bills are 
referred. Among the most important of the standing com- 
mittees of the House are the committees on rules, on w; 
and means, on appropriations, elections, banking and 
currency, accounts, rivers and harbors, judiciary, foreign 
affairs, and military affairs. In the Senate there are 
seventy-live standing committees. There are also three 
joint standing committees. In the Senate, it will be re- 
membered, the committees are selected by the Senate 
itself. The most important of the Senate commit i 
are those on finance, on appropriations, foreign affairs, 
privileges and elections, judiciary, and commerce. It is 
by no means always certain to what committee a bill 
should be referred, and this may become a matter of con- 
siderable importance to the fate of the bill, since of two 
possible committees one may be favorable, the other hos- 
tile. The disposition to be made of petitions, memorials 
and private bills is indicated on them when they are handed 
to the clerk by the members introducing them. Other bills 
are regularly referred to their proper committees by the 
Speaker, but his action may be changed in three ways : 
(i) by unanimous vote of the House ; (2) on motion of the 






LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 273 

committee claiming jurisdiction; (3) on the report of the 
omittee to which the bill has been referred. If a dispute 
arises as to the reference of the bill, it is settled by vote oi 
the House. 

Power of the Committee. When a bill has once been re- 
ferred, the power of the committee over it is rarely ques- 
tioned. Committee meetings for the consideration of 
bills are usually secret, and the public has no means of 
knowing how individual committee members have voted 
or what influences have been brought to bear on the com- 
mittee. Open meetings for taking evidence on the bill and 
for hearing the arguments of its advocates and opponents 
are often held, but unless the measure is one in which 
public interest i> already excited, the newspaper- rarely 
report the proceedings. Nominally the powers of the com- 
mittee are limited to the consideration of bills submitted to 
it. that i<. it has no right to initiate bills of its own; but 
it may and does amend as freely as it chooses the bills 
submitted, frequently transforming them completely. 
M ireover, if it desires legislation on a subject concerning 
which no bill has been introduced, it can readily procure 
the introduction of the necessary measure. We have 
already seen that the committee may practically kill a 
measure by reporting it adversely, by reporting it too late 
in tl ssi >n, or by not reporting it at all ; and by the em- 
ployment of one or the other of these method- the vast 
majority of the bill- introduced meet an early death. In 
the of the Fifty-sixth Congress there were intro- 

ducer! into both Houses 1 2,1 52 bills, of which only 1 2 1 5 were 
enacted into law ; that is. about nine tenth- of the measures 

introduced failed to pass. The House may. if it SUSp 

a committee of " smothering " a bill that public sentiment 
order the committee to report it. or it may tram 



274 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the bill to another committee ; but these restraints upon 
the power of the committee are rarely applied. 

Reporting Bills. Even after the rigid sifting to which 
the measures introduced are subjected by the committees, 
there remain a great number of bills to be reported, and 
the House can afford but a very limited time for hearing 
and discussing the report of each committee. With the 
exception of a few privileged committees — such as the one 
on rules, the one on ways and means, and the one on appro- 
priations, which may report at any time — each committee 
is allowed, on the average, about two hours for the whole 
session for making its report. This allows an extremely 
limited time for debate, and the result is that the House 19 
practically forced to adopt the recommendations of the 
committees in order to accomplish anything at all. The 
member reporting the measure, usually the chairman of 
the committee, has the privilege of opening and closing 
the debate. He is allotted an hour in which to explain 
.and defend his measure. He seldom, however, uses all 
of his time, but "yields the floor " for brief speeches to 
other members, both friends and opponents of the bill, 
previously agreed upon. He thus virtually controls the 
debate. At the end of the allotted period he moves that 
the report be accepted, and at the same time " moves the 
previous question." This cuts off further amendment and 
debate, and the bill is voted upon. 

Logrolling. While it is doubtful whether there is or- 
dinarily any great amount of unmitigated bribery prac- 
ticed in securing legislation, the milder form of political 
jobbery known as logrolling is not infrequently resorted 
to. This device is used both while the bill is still in 
the hands of the committee and after it is reported to 
the House, in case there is any danger of its meeting with 









LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 275 

real opposition on the floor. It is a bargain struck between 
members, each of whom has " an ax to grind." " You 
help me with my measure and I '11 help you with yours " is 
the arrangement, and thus votes enough are secured in the 
committee or friends enough on the floor of the House to 
pass a measure that would otherwise be rejected. 

Filibustering. In spite of logrolling and similar de- 
vices, however, the course of legislation does not always 
run so smoothly as the description given above might lead 
one to suppose. It has happened not infrequently that the 
opponents of a measure, while not numerous enough to 
prevent its passage if it were allowed to come to a vote, are 
still strong enough to obstruct business and prevent its 
being voted upon, with the object of extorting a compromise 
from the supporters of the measure. This process is 
known as filibustering. It consists in making all sorts of 
motions that can delay the business in hand — motions to 
adjourn, motions to take a recess, and calling for the yeas 
and nays on either of these questions. The last is an ex- 
tremely effective and annoying means of obstructing busi- 
ness, first, because it consumes so much time, and, second, 
ause it is permitted by a rule that the House cannot alter, 
' ing as it does on an express provision of the Constitution. 

Methods of Voting. In order to understand these tactics 
clearly we must know something of the methods of voting 
employed by the House. Ordinarily, in taking the vote on 
a question, the presiding officer simply calls in turn for 
the ayes and noes, and judges by the volume of sound 
as to whether it has been carried or lost. If, however, a 
doubt exists, a division is taken in one of three ways: 
ritl those in favor and those opposed rise successively 

and arc < minted by the Speaker, or, 2 if he IS -till in doubt 

if a count is called for by one fifth of those present, the 



276 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Speaker appoints two tellers, who stand in the middle gang- 
way and count, as the members pass between them, first 
those who vote in the affirmative and then those who vote 
in the negative, or, (3) if the yeas and nays are demanded 
by one fifth of those present, that method is adopted. The 
clerk calls the roll of the House, each member who votes 
answering " aye " or " no " to his name. This usually con- 
sumes an hour or more. The roll is then called a second 
time in order to give those an opportunity to vote who did 
not vote on the first call, or to allow others to change their 
votes. Since the Constitution provides that the yeas and 
nays must be taken on any question — questions of adjourn- 
ment as well as questions of substance — at the demand of 
one fifth of those present, it is easy to see how potent a 
means of obstruction this may be made. 

Restraint of Filibustering. Of late the House has adopted 
somewhat stringent rules to prevent filibustering, rules 
as stringent, perhaps, as are at all necessary. It should 
be remembered that it is a method that can be used suc- 
cessfully only by a large minority, fertile in expedients, 
and that the minority party will rarely combine for this 
purpose except on important questions. Moreover, if 
the question is one in which public interest has been 
awakened, the party that employs such obstructive tactics 
renders itself liable to popular disapproval — a risk that it 
is rarely willing to take. Since, in extreme cases, the device 
of filibustering may be used as a safeguard against the 
abuse of the system of closure of debate by means of the 
" previous question/' perhaps it w r ould not be wise to pre- 
vent its employment altogether, even if that were possible. 

Closure of Debate. In a large legislative body it is neces- 
sary that means of expediting business be employed. One 
such means is found in the adoption of the recommendations 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 277 

of the committees. Another is the system of closure of debate 
I mentioned. The debate is usually closed by " moving 
the previous question" in the form, Shall the main ques- 
tion now be put? If this is ordered (and the motion for 
the previous question cannot itself be debated), the House 
must at once proceed to a vote on the main question; Any 
member may move this closure of debate without permis- 
] from the Speaker, and it may be passed by a majority 
of those present. Until March 8, 19 17, there was no limit 
upon debate in the Senate. To punish "a little group 
of willful men " for defeating the war policy of President 
Wilson by an abuse of the privilege of unlimited debate in 
the closing hours of the Sixty-fourth Congress, the Senate 
-sed a resolution limiting debate whenever two thirds of 
members so directed. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Committee System. 

In the foregoing discussion of the committee system it has 

idy been suggested that this system possesses both ad- 

vant nd disadvantages. These may now be pointed 

out more definitely. Its chief advantages are : 

It kills off worthless bills at an early stage of their exist- 

e, thus preventing waste of time on the part of the House. 

Through it the House can accomplish vastly more 

than would otherwise be possible, though it runs 

the accepting the bad work of its committees as well 

>od. 

It promotes specialization in legislative work. Under 

in the House may be assigned the work for 

which I illv fitted, and every subject of legislation 

may be put into the hands of those members who know 

>out it. 

It makes it possible for Congress to subject the 
administrative departments to ii, ion at any time. 



278 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The committee cannot punish the departments for malad- 
ministration, but it can make public the condition of affairs 
and subject them to public censure. 

(5) It makes possible cooperation between the executive 
and legislative departments. Cabinet members cannot 
urge their measures on the floor of the House, but they 
may do so before the committees. 

On the other hand, the following disadvantages of the 
system have been cited : (1) It breaks up the unity of the 
House ; (2) it cramps debate ; (3) it lessens the harmony 
of legislation ; (4) it facilitates corruption ; (5) it reduces 
responsibility ; (6) it dissipates the ability of the House 
into independent groups ; (7) it lowers the interest of the 
nation in the proceedings of Congress. 1 How the evils of 
our committee system are to be remedied while its advan- 
tages are retained is one of the problems of practical politics 
for American citizens. 

The Speaker. One more striking feature of our legisla- 
tive system is the power over legislation intrusted to the 
Speaker of the House, of Representatives. One writer 
calls him " the second, if not the first, political figure 
in the United States/' while another says of him that he is 
"the most interesting and important legislative officer in 
the American Commonwealth, if not in the world." We 
borrowed our Speaker from the English House of Commons, 
but we have radically changed his character. The English 
speaker, no matter what his political affiliations or his 
standing in his party before election, must immediately on 
election forget his party and become simply a fair and judi- 
cial presiding officer. The American Speaker, on the other 
hand, is, and is expected to remain, a party leader, using 
his office for party purposes. This does not mean that he is 

1 Woodburn, pp. 284 seq. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 279 

privileged to use unfair means for furthering party projects, 
or that he may wrest the rules of the House from their 
obvious meaning in order to secure a party advantage ; 
but he may make the fullest possible use of any means that 
his office legitimately places in his hands for furthering the 
interests of his party. 

The Speaker : Sources of his Power. Formerly the 
aker's power over legislation was derived in three 
ways: (1) through his power of appointing committees; 
through his power of granting or withholding recognition 
a member desiring to address the House; (3) through 
his position as chairman of the committee on rules. 1 In 
ent years, however, the Speaker has been shorn of much 
of his former power. This has been accomplished through 
the election by the House of its own committees instead of 
having them appointed by the Speaker as formerly. Now 
both the minority and the majority members of the com- 
mittees are nominated by their respective parties in the 
House and elected by vote of all members of the House. 
rthermore, the Speaker is no longer a member of the rules 
tnmittee. Others there are who would further limit the 
power of the Speaker by making him merely a presiding 
; officer either chosen by the House outside of its membership 
directly by the people at presidential elections. The 
at of the Senate is not a member of the Senate and 
sen by the people. This fact furnishes the l>a>is for 
the suggestion outlined above relating to the choice o\ the 
:ker of the House. 
Recognition. Through the Speaker's power of recogni- 
ilmost as much influence over the course 

1 In 1910 each party nominated it- own representatives on the rules 
mittee, and tl ber ; in ron the 

:r.eans committee appointed the remaii 



280 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of legislation as through his former power of appointing 
committees. Originally the rule was that the Speaker 
should recognize the member who first asked for recogni- 
tion. In present practice there are few limitations on his 
power to recognize whom he pleases. Ordinarily it is cus- 
tomary for him to recognize the chairman of the committee, 
that is, to recognize a committee in the person of its chair- 
man in preference to an individual member. Similarly, while 
a bill is passing through its various stages, preference is given 
to the member who has it in charge. Custom has placed 
upon him a few other restrictions also, but in emergen* 
hemay use his power of recognition in such a way as to give 
him absolute control of legislation. He may prevent a 
measure to which he objects from being voted upon at 
all by refusing recognition to any member who wishes to 
bring it to a vote. The only real limitation upon his 
absolute power in the matter of recognition is the possi- 
bility of calling down upon himself the disapproval of his 
own party members. 

Committee on Rules. The committee on rules con- 
sists of only eleven members, seven from the majority party 
and four from the minority — a committee which has in re- 
cent years become by far the most powerful one in the House. 
Its seven majority members are the ablest and most ex- 
perienced members of their party — the party leaders. Un- 
der existing rules this small committee has absolute power to 
decide what business shall come before the House. This it 
does by means of its exclusive power of initiating the special 
order (an order of the House naming a special time for the 
consideration of a measure). The power of the committee 
has, of course, been given to it by vote of the majority in 
the House and could be taken away from it in the same 
manner. That it is permitted to retain it is due to the fact 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 281 

that some such directing committee is necessary to enable 
a body so large to accomplish its work. This committee 
IS now chosen by the House in the same manner as are the 
other standing committees. 

The Party Caucus. One other agency employed by Con- 
gress to facilitate the work of legislation should be noticed. 
This is the organization of parties in Congress. If we are to 
have efficient and successful party government, it is clear 
that some sort of organization is necessary. The party 
must devise some means of informing its members of its 
wishes in regard to the measures to be voted on, some 
means of securing united action from its members on im- 
portant questions, some means of noting changes of opinion 
among its members. This work is accomplished by means 
of the party caucus. At the beginning of every Congress, 
caucus committees are chosen whose business it is to call 
the caucus meetings and to act as general party managers 
in the legislature. In matters of minor importance party 
members are allowed a good deal of freedom, but if a 
measure is deemed important enough to require concerted 
party action, it is made a " caucus measure." A meeting of 
all the party members is called, and all the force of party 
influence is exerted to secure a unanimous party vote. 
The member who " goes into caucus " on a measure is 
considered in honor bound to vote upon it in the House 
in accordance with the wishes of his party, and " bolting " 

very rare. 

The Necessity for Expediting Business. We have seen 
I something of the way in which the House works and of 
the variety of agencies it employs for expediting busin< 
The necessity for the employment of such agencies becomes 

wious when we consider how very large is the number of 
bills in trod u< ed every year. In the Thirty-seventh ( !ongn 



282 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

(1861-1863) 1026 bills were introduced. In the Fifty- 
seventh there were 22,000. The proportion of those that 
pass is very small, and the vast majority never reach a third 
reading. Many bills are introduced in the expectation that 
they will be " buried " in committee or on the calendar. 
They are introduced to satisfy a constituency or to gratify 
some private or local interest, and the House understands 
well enough what their fate is to be. Most of the bills 
introduced are private bills, local or personal in character — 
bills for satisfying claims against the government, granting 
pensions, etc. 

Contrast between the Houses. More than one writer 
has described the impression made upon him on seeing Con- 
gress at work, and all have noted the contrast between the 
two Houses. About the Senate there is an air of gravity and 
dignity. It has been described as making somewhat the 
impression of a diplomatic congress. At the same time it i> 
" modern, severe, practical. " " The faces are keen and 
forcible as of men who have learned to know the world and 
have had much to do with it." The House, on the other 
hand, makes a general impression of disorder, due in part to 
" the raising and dropping of desk lids, the scratching of 
pens, the clapping of hands to call the pages, . . . the pat- 
tering of many feet, the hum of talking on the floor and in 
the galleries/' but due in part also to an " absence of dig- 
nity both in its proceedings and in the bearing and aspect 
of individual members. " Yet it may be questioned whether 
the House is not after all in some respects the more impi 
sive body of the two. Mr. Bryce says of it : 

" This huge gray hall, filled with perpetual clamor, this 
multitude of keen and eager faces, this ceaseless coming 
and going of many feet, this irreverent public, watching from 
the galleries and forcing its way onto the floor, all speak to 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 283 

the beholder's mind of the mighty democracy, destined in 
another century to form one half of civilized mankind, whose 
affairs are here debated. If the men are not great, the in- 
terests and the issues are vast and fateful. Here, as so 
often in America, one thinks rather of the future than of the 
present. Of what tremendous struggles may not this hall 
become the theater in ages yet far distant, when the parlia- 
ments of Europe have shrunk to insignificance ? " 

Desirability of Career in Congress. It would seem as if a 
career in Congress, the supreme legislative body of one 
oi the greatest nations in the world, ought to offer attrac- 
tions at least equal to those of the professions and the higher 
spheres of commercial and industrial life. As a matter of 
fact, however, political life attracts comparatively few of 
the most highly gifted and ambitious. Not only is the 
congressman's tenure of his position very precarious, but 
the position itself offers little opportunity for distinction. 
The real work of legislation is done in the committee, and 
the world sees and knows nothing of it. Real merit and 
ability will gain recognition in Congress as everywhere else, 

vided its possessor is permitted to remain there long 
enough to make his influence felt; but comparatively few 
are so permitted. This is particularly true of the House. 

the time a new member has mastered thoroughly the 
procedure of the House, his term is at an vm\. and he has 
had no opportunity to distinguish himself. U he i- re- 
turned for more than a second term, lie IS one of a fortunate 
The position of senator i- naturally more desirable 
than that of representative. He ha- more power, more 
dignity, a more permanent and more independent position. 
In some respects, indeed, the position of senator is the 
most desirable in the political world. It. i- more permanent 

n that of president or cabinet officer, it requires I 



284 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

labor, it involves less vexation by office-seekers ; but it is 
open to only a few. Of those who seek a political career 
the great majority must content themselves with the much 
less attractive work of the House. 

Library References. Macy, chap, xxxiv ; Mary, First Lessons, 
chap, xvii ; Dawes, chaps, iv-v; Bryce, Vol. I. chaps, xii-xv. xix ; 
Hinsdale, chap, xxiv ; Wilson, §§ 1061-1062, 1071-1077, I 080-1 081 ; 
Congressional Directory; Wilson. Congressional Government , chap, ii, 
pp. 168-169, [93-215, chap, vi; Harrison, chap, iii ; Alton, ch. 
V-vij viii, xi. xv--xvi, xx -xxiii, xxv -xxviii, x\\ -xxxii ; Lalor, Article on 
Parliamentary Law\ Woodbum, pp. 223 226, 230-231, 257-301, 
313-315; Fiske, pp. 228 230. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. What are legislative bills? Where may they originate 

under the national government? What is the difference be- 
tween a bill and a law? 

2. State the provision of the Constitution regarding bills 
vetoed by the president. Give a reason for this provision. 

3. Give the different Steps by which a bill becomes a law. 

4. W r hat are legislative com mi t tees? What are their rela- 
tions to legislation ? 

5. Explain the necessity of legislative committee-. State 
two evils that may result from transacting business through 
such committees. 

6. State the advantages of committees in legislative bodies. 
What is meant by " committee of the whole"? State an 
advantage of considering a bill in committee of the whole. 

7. What power has the Speaker of the House over legis- 
lation ? 

8. How is a bill introduced in the Senate? in the Houn 

9. If a committee attempts to smother a bill, how may 
Congress regain possession of it ? 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: ITS WORKING 285 

10. How is a vote on a bill taken? In cases of doubt, what 
ans may be resorted to? 

11. Explain the meaning and use of the following terms as 
applied to Congress : " caucus/' " logrolling," " jobbery," " bolt- 
ing," " special order," ki counting a quorum," " filibustering." 

12. Which house of Congress is the more dignified, and why? 
Discuss fully. 

13. Define the "cabinet, or ministerial, system" of govern- 
ment ; the "congressional, or committee, system." 

14. In how many ways may a committee kill a measure 
referred to it? In what other way may a committee shape 
legislation? 



CHAPTER XXII 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT: PRESIDENT AND 
VICE PRESIDENT 

Executive Department. We come now to the considera- 
tion of another of the three great department- essential 
to every complete government — the executive. We 
have seen how the Constitution provided for the creation 
and organization of a law-making department and endowed 
it with powers, and we have learned something of the way 
in which this branch of government has developed in actual 
practice and of the means by which it performs its functions. 
It is our task now to ask the same questions in regard to 
the law-enforcing department : How was it created? How 
is it organized ? What may it do ? How does it do it ? 

The Convention and the Presidency. The maker- o\ 
our Constitution believed firmly in the separation and co- 
ordination of the three branches of government. To a 
greater or less extent this separation existed in the govern- 
ments of the various states, and their undoubted superior- 
ity to the government of the Confederation, in which such 
executive functions as existed were united w r ith the legis- 
lative, was attributed to this fact of separation. The 
desire to establish a similar separation of powers in the 
national government, with only so much interaction as was 
absolutely necessary in order to prevent the usurpation of 
power by any one of the three branches, is seen very clearly 
in the organization of all of them. It is seen particularly 

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288 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

in the creation of what had not before existed, namely, the 
office of president of the United States. The Congress of 
the Confederation had had a presiding officer whom they 
called a president, but aside from the duty of presiding at 
the meetings of Congress, his function differed not at all 
from those of his colleagues. He was in no sense the execu- 
tive head of a government. 

A Difficult Question. The problems with which the Con- 
vention struggled in creating and organizing a separate 
executive department seem to have been in some resp< 
the most troublesome with which it had to deal. Al- 
most every question that arose in connection with the 
matter called forth serious debate. Whether there should 
be a single executive or an executive body or council, what 
should be the length of the term, whether or not the execu- 
tive should be reeligible, what should be the manner of 
choice — on all these points widely different opinions v, 
entertained in the Convention. One of them, the question 
as to the method of choice, is said to have occupied a seventh 
of the whole time of the Convention. 

Plan Adopted. We are now so accustomed in all our 
governments, national, state, and local, to the practice of 
vesting executive authority in a single person, that the idea 
of a plural executive seems strange to us ; yet in the Con- 
vention the plan of having a plural executive was warmly 
advocated. To many of the men of that period the idea 
of a single executive savored of monarchy, and monarchy 
they could not abide. It was argued in the Convention 
that the people would never ratify a constitution that pro- 
vided for a single executive. On the other hand, the failure of 
the Confederation had convinced many that what the coun- 
try needed above all things was a strong executive, capable 
of acting vigorously and promptly ; and this, it was argued, 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 289 

could never be secured through a council or assembly. This 
view finally prevailed and a single executive was agreed to, 
but the Convention took good care to safeguard the liberties 
oi the people in a variety of ways. The)' devised a mode 
of election that was intended to make him independent of 
the national legislature and free to devote himself solely 
to the interests of the whole people ; they made him subject 
to impeachment and removal in case he betrayed the trust 
reposed in him ; the}- limited his term of office ; they gave 
the Senate a share with him in certain very important ex- 
ecutive functions ; and they gave the control of the public 
purse into the hands of Congress. It would seem sufficiently 
obvious that such limitations as these are hardly compatible 
with monarchical power such as the men of that time stood 
in dread of ; yet it was deemed wise to attempt to prove 
in The Federalist that no very close analogy existed between 
the king and the president of the United States. 

Qualifications for the Presidency. The Constitution 
requires that the candidate for the presidency shall be a 
natural-born citizen or a citizen at the time of the adoption 
<>f the Constitution, that he shall be at least thirty-five years 
and that he shall have been for fourteen years a resi- 
dent within the United States. The clause making eligible 
those who were citizens at the time of the adoption of the 
LStitution, even though foreign-born, has of course be- 
te inoperative. It was inserted in order not to bar out 
such men as Hamilton and Wilson, who. though not born 
within the United Mate-, were among the ablest, mos! de- 
voted, and most patriotic citizen- of the young republic. 
• " natural-born citizens " has been interpreted 
lean born within the jurisdiction of the United State-. 

Thus children born to American citizens on American vessels 

in foreign ports, or to our ambassadors, consuls, or other 



290 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

representatives in foreign countries, or to American citizens 
traveling or temporarily sojourning abroad, do not become 
ineligible to this office. On the other hand, children born 
in this country to foreign representatives are not eligible. 

Term and Reeligibility. Widely varying opinions were 
held in the Convention as to what should be the length of 
the president's term of office, and the question was closely 
bound up with that of his reeligibility and the manner of 
election. Four years was the term fixed by the Constitution, 
and the president was made reeligible. Some suggested 
three years and many favored a longer term, five, six, 
seven, and ten years being among the suggestions. Hamil- 
ton, in his desire to create a strong executive, favored a life 
term subject only to removal by impeachment. In genera] 
those who favored a long term were also in favor of making 
the president ineligible for reelection. Likewise, those who 
favored his election by Congress (for that was onv of the 
modes of election proposed) thought that he ought not to 
be made reeligible, since that would increase the likelihood 
of his intriguing with Congress for reelection. While the 
Constitution places no limit on the reelection of the presi- 
dent, the custom of reelection but once has become so firmly 
fixed that it would be very difficult to change it. Many 
now question the wisdom of allowing even a second term. 
They argue that under the present arrangement the presi- 
dent is likely to be more concerned about being president 
for two terms than about being a good president for one ; 
and that he will in consequence strive to please the party 
managers, and only secondarily to serve the people. 

Salary. While the Constitution provides that the presi- 
dent shall receive compensation for his services, it makes 
no attempt to determine the amount of his salary. It only 
provides that it " shall neither be increased nor diminished 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 291 

during the period for which he shall have been elected," 
and that " he shall not receive within that period any other 
emolument from the United States or any of them." Con- 
gress first fixed the salary of the president at $25,000. In 
1873 this was increased to $50,000, and in 1909 to $75,000, 
with an allowance of $25,000 per year for traveling ex- 
penses. 1 In addition to his salary the president is given 
the use of the national executive mansion, the White 
House. The cost of maintaining the executive branch of our 
vrnment including the salaries of the president, the vice 
president, and the secretary to the president, together with 
the expenditures for the care of the executive mansion and 
\v other items, is extremely small compared with similar 
expenditures by foreign governments. 

Election : Methods Proposed in the Convention. These 
questions of the qualifications, term, salary, etc., of the 
chief executive were the easiest ones with which the Con- 
vention had to deal in organizing the executive department. 
They met the most difficult one when they attempted to 
devise a method of election. When their work was finished, 
there was no other part of the Constitution that they re- 
garded with so much satisfaction as the plan agreed upon ; 
yet no other part has failed so completely to fulfill the ex- 
tations entertained of it. In the Convention almost 
ry possible method of choice was proposed. Some 
proposed that the president be elected by Congress ; others 
that he be electee] by the executives of the states; others 
the state Legislatures; others by electors chosen by the 
te Legislatures or by the people. Mr. Wilson of Pennsyl- 
vania proposed direct election by the people, apologizing at 

1 The em] Germany has a salary approximately of $3,850,000; 

the king ad, $2,350,000; the president of France, $1 20,000 and 

$1 20,000 for expenses. 



2 9 2 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the same time for his suggestion, because he felt that it 
would appear chimerical to the Convention. If there 
existed in the Convention a deep-seated fear of monarch}-, 
there was an almost equal distrust of pure democracy. It 
was not believed that the people would possess the informa- 
tion or the discernment necessary to enable them to choose 
the best man for the place ; it was thought that they would 
be too much at the mercy of demagogues, and that, more- 
over, to leave the decision of so important a matter in 
their hands might result in tumult and disorder. On the 
other hand, if the choice were left to Congress or any other 
preexisting body that could be tampered with beforehand, 
there would be danger of intrigue and corruption. The 
Convention deemed it desirable that the people should h 
some voice in the matter, but they thought it wise to pi 
the immediate election in the hands of a specially chosen 
electoral college, which, after due deliberation, should choose 
as wisely as possible. Hence the double mode of election. 
Method Chosen. As originally wrought out in the Con- 
stitution, this method was as follow-: Each state was to 
select, in whatever manner the state legislature might din 
a number of electors equal to the number of its senati 
and representatives in Congress, but no United State> officer 
was to be eligible to an electorship. The electors were then 
to meet in their respective states on a day fixed by law and 
vote for two persons, one of whom was to be an inhabitant 
of some other state than their own. They were then to 
send sealed to the capital a certified list of the persons voted 
for, with the number of votes received by each, and these 
lists were there to be opened by the president of the Senate, 
in the presence of both Houses, and counted. The person 
receiving the highest number of votes, provided that number 
were a majority of the whole number of electors, was to be 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 293 

president, and the person having the next highest number 
was to be vice president. If two candidates had an equal 
number and that number a majority, or if no candidate had 
a majority, the House of Representatives was to choose the 
president, in the first case from the two that were tk tied," 
in the last case from the five highest on the list. The House 
was to vote by states, the whole representation from each 
state voting as one. two thirds of all the states constituting 
a quorum, and a majority of all the states being necessary 
for election. In case of a tie for vice president the Senate 
was to elect that official. 

A Defect Discovered. It will be noticed that according 
to this provision the electors might vote for two persons 
without designating which one they desired for president 
and which for vice president. The one receiving the great- 
number of votes in excess of a majority w r as to be presi- 
dent, and the person receiving the next highest number, 
whether it was a majority or not, was to be vice president. 
The result was that in the election of 1800, Jefferson, whom 
the electors desired for president, received the same number 
of votes as Burr, whom they had meant to elect vice presi- 
dent. This gave the power of election to the House, and 
Jefferson was elected, though not without difficulty. This 
incident led to the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, 
which provides the present mode of election. 

The Twelfth Amendment. By this amendment it is pro- 
vided that the president and the vice president shall be 
■d for separately, and that distinct lists of those voted 
shall be Sent to the capital. Hie VOteS are to be opened 
I Counted as provided before, and in case no candidate 

3 a majority, the House is to ele< I a- before, except that 

th< from the three instead of the five highest 

It. when the ( hoice devolves upon the House, that body fails 



294 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

to elect a president before the fourth of March, the newly 
elected vice president shall act as president. If the electors 
fail to elect a vice president, that duty devolves upon the 
Senate, which makes its choice from the tivo highest on the 
list voted on for vice president. In case neither president 
nor vice president should be chosen before the fourth of 
March, the Constitution makes no provision for the 
succession. 

Another Defect. In the election of 1876 another defect 
became apparent. In that election there were 369 electoral 
votes to be cast, 185 being necessary to a choice. Of these 
Mr. Tilden, the Democratic candidate, had unquestionably 
received 184, while Mr. Hayes had received 164 undis- 
puted votes. In four states, however (South Carolina, 
Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon), with 21 electoral votes, 
both parties claimed the election. In all these states 
both sets of electors had met, voted, and sent up cer- 
tified returns. The question now arose, " Who shall 
decide which return is to be accepted? " All that the 
Constitution says in regard to the matter is that " the 
president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certifi- 
cates and the votes shall then be counted" The Republicans 
insisted that the vice president, a Republican, should decide, 
since he was president of the Senate. The Democrats main- 
tained that since the count was to be made in the presence 
of Congress, the reasonable inference was that that body 
was to decide upon the validity of it. In this case, however, 
the Senate was Republican and the House Democratic, so 
that the only result of leaving the decision to Congress would 
be a deadlock. The difficulty was temporarily solved by 
the creation by Congress of an electoral commission consist- 
ing of five senators, five representatives, and five justices 



- 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 295 

of the Supreme Court. The vote in the commission, which 
- made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, was 
given on strictly party lines, and the Republican candidate 
was elected. In 1S87 an act was passed by Congress requir- 
ing the choice of electors to be settled by the laws of the 
state at least six days before the meeting of the electors. In 
such settlement is not effected, the dispute is referred 
to Congress, and if Congress fails to decide, the electoral 
vote of the state is lost. 

Time and Method of Choosing Electors. The Constitution 
gives to Congress the right to determine the time for choosing 
the electors in the various states, as well as the right to fix 
the day when the electors shall cast their votes. The only 
restriction is that the day fixed for the final vote shall be the 
same throughout the United States. The time of choosing 
electors and the time when they should meet and vote for 
president and vice president has been changed by Congress 
at different times. These changes have been made with a 
view to making it easier to settle disputed elections. The 
law now is that electors shall be chosen on the first Tues- 
day after the first Monday in November, and shall meet 
and vote for president and vice president on the second 
Monday in January following. The method of choosing 
the electors was left by the Constitution to the 
decision of the state legislatures; consequently it would 
be possible for them to be chosen in a great variety 
ways. As a matter of fact, the method is now uni- 
form. Electors are chosen in every state on a common 
ticket by direct popular vote. At one time the dis- 
trict plan of election was used in some of the states, 
but thi- had long been abandoned when, in 1891, it was 
ived in Michigan by an act of the legislature. The 
law was contested in the courts, but it was declared 



296 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

constitutional by the Supreme Court. It was, however, 
repealed in 1893. 

Failure of the Electoral College. Such, then, is the 
method of the presidential election as provided by the Con- 
stitution and by statute. How does it work in practice? 
We have seen that in providing the method of double elec- 
tion the framers of the Constitution were influenced by the 
belief that it would secure the choice of men especially 
fitted for the electorship, who would then, unfettered by 
outside influence, make the choice that seemed to them 
the wisest. Naturally they could not foresee the growth of 
our party system of government, which was to render their 
carefully elaborated scheme a failure and make of the 
electoral college a mere machine for registering the choice of 
the people; for this is what it has become. Every elector 
has an unquestionable legal right to vote for whom he 
pleases, but he is bound by a pledge of honor, by a custom 
as strong as any law, to vote for the candidate of his party. 
So completely has the elector become a mere party agent, 
whose sole business it is to ratify the choice already made, 
that in general nobody knows and nobody cares what his 
personal qualifications may be. 1 The voter, when he casts 
his ballot, is in reality voting directly for the presidential 
candidate whose name is placed at the top of the ticket. 

A More Serious Defect. Some of the other consequences 
of the employment of this particular method of election 
under the system of party government are more serious. 
The present system of choosing the electors by general 
ticket over the whole state makes the election virtually an 
election by states. The state " goes Republican " or it 

1 Divided state delegations are, to be sure, by no means unknown. Oc- 
casionally this is due to the rejection of a candidate on personal grounds; 
more frequently to other reasons. See Woodburn, p. 127, note. 



PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT 297 

11 goes Democratic " ; that is, it elects, with rare exceptions, 
Full complement of electors from a single part)-, and casts 
the whole number of its electoral votes for the candidate 
of that part}-. Now it may happen that in one state the 
plurality of the winning party is very large and more than 
overcomes the small adverse pluralities in a dozen states, 
while the electoral vote of the dozen states is greater than 
that in the one state giving a larger plurality. For example, 
in the presidential election of 1900, Idaho, with three elec- 
toral votes, gave Mr. Bryan a plurality of 2448 votes; 
Kentucky, with thirteen votes, gave him a plurality of 
;; Nevada, with three electoral votes, gave him 2516 
— a total plurality in the three states named of 12,939; 
Michigan, with fourteen electoral votes, gave Mr. McKinley 
a plurality of 104,584. Thus Mr. McKinley, with 91,645 
more .votes than his opponent received, would have been 
defeated in the electoral college by a vote of 19 to 14 if the 
decision had been left to the four states above named. 
Thus it will be seen that the electoral college may be the 
means of defeating the clearly expressed wishes of the 
pie. This actually happened in 1888, when Mr. Cleve- 
land received a plurality over Mr. Harrison of 95,534. 
This verdict of the individual voters was reversed by the 
electoral college, which gave Mr. Harrison 233 electoral 
tes as against 168 for Mr. Cleveland. Moreover, under 
the present plan the struggle is concentrated in a few 
doubtful states. To win or lose them means to win or lose 
the election, and this naturally increases the temptation 
to political corruption in those states. 

Presidential Primaries. In some state> presidential 
primari held. At these primaries, voters are per- 

mitted to express by ballot their preference tor president 
and vice president. In this way the wishes of the people 



298 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

are determined. While these results are merely suggestive, 
it is more than likely that delegates to national conventions 
will be chosen in harmony with the wishes of the voters as 
expressed in such primaries. The present tendency is 
toward direct nomination by the individual voter of candi- 
dates for the presidency. Direct nomination and direct 
election of the president by the individual voter without 
reference to state lines and the abolition of the electoral 
college are present-day tendencies. 

Presidential Succession. The president is removable 
only on impeachment. Only one president, Andrew John- 
son, has been impeached, and he was acquitted. A vacancy 
in the presidential office may, however, occur in a variety 
of other ways by the death or resignation of the incum- 
bent; by his inability, from whatever cause, to discharge 
the duties and powers of the office ; by the refusal of the 
newly elected president to accept the office, though this is 
not likely to occur. If a vacancy does occur in any of these 
ways, the vice president succeeds to the office. Further 
than this the Constitution makes no provision for the 
presidential succession, but the deficiency has been supplied 
by statute. By the presidential succession 1 > 1 1 1 of 1886 it 
is provided that in case of the inability of both president 
and vice president to perform the duties of the office, 
the cabinet officers shall succeed in the following order : 
(i) Secretary of State, (2) Secretary of the Treasury, 
(3) Secretary of War, (4) Attorney-General, (5) Postmaster- 
General, (6) Secretary of the Navy, (7) Secretary of the 
Interior. A bill making the Secretary of Agriculture 
eighth and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor ninth in 
the order of presidential succession was introduced in the 
Fifty-eighth Congress, but for some reason this failed to 
become a law. 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 299 

The President's Powers. Just as we saw that to the 
national legislature are intrusted executive and judicial as 
well as legislative functions, so also to an even greater ex- 
tent the executive exercises legislative and judicial functions. 
His executive functions are : 

(1) To be commander in chief of the army and navy of 
the United States, and of the militia of the several states 
when called into the service of the United States ; 

{2) To make treaties with the concurrence of two thirds 
of the Senate ; 

(3) To nominate and, with the consent of the Senate, 
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers not 
otherwise provided for by the Constitution or by statute ; 

(4) To receive ambassadors and other public ministers, 

(5) To commission all officers of the United States; 

(6) To take care that the laws are faithfully executed. 
His legislative powers are : 

(1) To sign or veto measures passed by Congress; 

(2) To inform Congress of the state of the Union and 
recommend measures for their consideration ; 

(3) To call special sessions of Congress ; 

(4) To adjourn Congress when the Houses cannot agree 
upon the time of adjournment. 

Hi- judicial function is to grant reprieves and pardons 
and to commute sentences for offenses committed against 
the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

Classification not Absolute. This classification must not 
be taken too absolutely, for a moment's consideration 
will show that some of these powers really fall into two 
classes. In making treaties, for instance, the president ej- 
not only executive functions but legislative as well, 
since treaties are a part of the supreme law of the land. 



300 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The appointment of judicial officers also, while it is strictly 
an administrative act, has a distinctly judicial bearing, 

His Legislative Powers. Some of these presidential 
powers require further discussion. Very important are the 
president's legislative powers. In the power to call extraor- 
dinary sessions of Congress and to communicate his m 
sage he has a real power to initiate legislation. There is no 
legal bar to his constructing and presenting regular bills to 
Congress, only the custom has never happened to grow up. 1 
Instead, the heads of the administrative departments make 
written reports and public recommendations, have private 
conferences with the congressional committees, and use their 
personal influence with party leaders in the Hous ure 

the necessary Legislation. While the president's annual 
message may exercise considerable influence on legislation, 
it does not necessarily do so, particularly if the majority in 
Congress is not of the president's party. There have 
been two plans of presenting the president's m< 
Washington and Adams appeared in Congress in person 
and addressed the two houses assembled in joint session. 
Jefferson inaugurated the custom of sending the presi- 
dent's message to be read in each house by the secretary or 
clerk, and this remained the custom for more than a century. 
President Wilson returned to the plan inaugurated by 
Washington and personally appeared before Congress in 
joint session and delivered his message. 

The Veto. The president, however, exercises his most 
effective power over legislation in a negative way by means 
of the veto. We have referred before to the president's 
veto power (p. 268), but we have not studied fully the 
method of its working. When a bill that has passed 
Congress comes to the executive mansion, it is usually sent 
1 See Woodburn, pp. 144-145. 



PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT 301 

to the head of the department concerned, or, if there is a 
question of its constitutionality, to the Attorney-General. 
The president then takes it up with the report of the depart- 
ment, and either signs it or vetoes it in the manner pre- 

ibed by the Constitution. In ease Congress adjourns 
within ten days (Sundays excepted) after sending a bill 
to the president, he may simply disregard it altogether, 
neither signing nor returning it. This so-called " pocket 
veto," unlike the regular veto, is an absolute one and may 
be employed very effectively to prevent Congress from over- 
whelming the president with a host of bills at the end of a 
-ion. It is just this hasty legislation crowded into the last 
few days of a session that needs the most careful scrutiny, 
and it is well that the president should be given some such 
power over it as that provided by the pocket veto. 

Restrictions on the Veto. The president's regular veto is 
of course a restricted one. In the first place, it may be 
overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house, that is, by 
two-thirds of those present and voting. In the second 
place, the president must approve or disapprove the bill as a 
whole. He cannot veto one item or proposition and assent 
to the rest. It is this necessity that gave rise to the custom 
of attaching " riders " to important bills. The rider has 
been defined as " an unrelated piece of legislation attached 
to another legislative measure with the purpose of having it 
ride through on the merits of the measure to which it is at- 
tached." They are usually attached to appropriation bills, 
and virtually say to the president, " Sign this measure or find 
r own means for running the government." The practice 
of attaching riders to important bills became common, and 
gave rise to serious abuse. Public opinion has condemned it. 

Working of the Veto. The veto power is an extremely 
important one and has worked remarkably well. It may 



302 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

prevent inexpedient and unwise legislation, and it must act 
in any case as an appeal to the sober second thought of Con- 
gress and the nation. It was never intended to be a positive 
check upon legislation, nor does it in general act as one, but 
it does check overhasty legislation. It was originally given 
to the executive as a means of preventing the legislative de- 
partment from encroaching on his own powers or those of 
the judiciary, but it has come to be used on the much wider 
ground of general expediency also, and of this public opinion 
approves. Most of the presidents have made a very sparing 
use of the power, and where they have employed it freely 
their course has in general been approved both by the 
nation at large and by Congress when it came to reconsider 
its action. 

Calling Extra Sessions. The power of calling an extra 
session of Congress or of either house is granted to the 
president in order to enable him to meet an unforeseen 
emergency. The emergency might be the immediate 
consideration of a treaty, the probability of war, the neces- 
sity of preserving the credit of the country orproviding funds 
to conduct the government. The power of convening Con- 
gress in extra session has been rarely exercised. A special 
session of the House alone has never been called. Special 
sessions of the Senate are more common. It is customary 
for the outgoing president to convene the Senate to act upon 
the nominations for cabinet and other officers which the 
new president will make immediately after his inauguration. 

Treaty-making Power. Another very important presi- 
dential power that is perhaps more legislative than executive 
is the treaty-making power. This power can be exercised 
only with the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators 
present. There is also, of course, the implied restriction 
that the treaty shall be in all respects constitutional. The 



PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT 303 

usual steps in the negotiation of a treaty are as follows : If 
friendly relations exist between the two nations concerned, 
the negotiations are conducted at the capital of the one from 
which the suggestion first came. If this is in Washington, 
the Secretary of State acts for the United States, and the 
minister of the foreign country concerned acts for his 
government. If the treaty is negotiated in some other 
country, the United States minister to that country, or 
some other person or persons appointed by the president, 
act for this government. In either case the president directs 
the general course of the negotiations. A peace treaty 
dosing a war is generally negotiated in some neutral capital 
by special commissioners from the two or more nations 
concerned. After a treaty has been framed, it is sent to 
the Senate, where it is discussed in executive session. The 
Senate may approve it as it stands, may reject it, or may 
amend it. If amendments are made, they must be ac- 
cepted by the president and by the other government 
interested. When it has been finally approved on both 
sides, duplicate copies are made, signed by the chief officers 
<>f both L;'>vernments, and then exchanged. This is called 
the " exchange of ratifications. " The president then 
publishes the treat}', proclaiming it at the same time as a 
part of the law of the land. 

The Appointing Power conferred upon the president is 
probably the power that gives him his greatest political In- 
fluence. The necessity of giving him large appointing powers 
naturally out of the duty laid upon him to " take 
that the laws be faithfully executed." It will be seen, 
however, that the Constitution gives Congress authority to 
reduce very considerably the president's power oxer appoint- 
ments. " The Congress may by law vest the appoint- 
ment of such inferior officer- as they think proper . . . in 



304 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the courts of law or in the heads of departments." Besides 
the ambassadors and other public ministers, consuls, and 
judges appointed by the president with the consent of the 
Senate, a large number of other officers whose positions he 
been established by law, among them the heads of the ex- 
ecutive departments, receive their appointments in the same 
way. The president cannot, of course, examine personally 
into the fitness of all his appointments. He must depend 
largely upon the advice of the heads of departments and 
upon the recommendations of senators and representatives 
of his own party from the states in which the office is lo- 
cated. Partly in consequence of this fact there has grown 
up, in the case of those appointments requiring the confirma- 
tion of the Senate, a custom that greatly limits the appoint- 
ing power of the president. This is the custom known as 
" senatorial courtesy," by which the Senate almost in- 
variably refuses to confirm an appointment unless it me 
with the approval of one or both of the senators in whose 
state the office is located, provided those senators are mem- 
bers of the majority party in the Senate. 

The Life of the President is an extremely busy one. Mr. 
Harrison pictures it thus: "It (the White House) is an 
office and a home combined — an evil combination. There 
is no break in the day — no change of atmosphere. The 
blacksmith, when the allotted hours of work are over, banks 
his fire, lays aside his leather apron, washes his grimy 
hands, and goes home. . . . There is only a door — one 
that is never locked — between the president's office and 
what are not very accurately called his private apartments. 
. . . The mail that comes daily to the executive mansion is 
very large ; in the early months of an administration it is 
enormous, as many as eight hundred letters being sometimes 
received in a day. . . . Unless the president is very 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 305 

early, he will find some callers waiting for him as he passes 
through the cabinet room to his office. . . . His time is so 
broken into bits that he is often driven to late night work, or 
to set up a desk in his bedroom, when preparing a message 
or other paper requiring unbroken attention. . . . For the 
first year and a half of an administration the president 
spends from four to six hours of each day talking about 
things he will not have to act upon for months, while the 
things that ought to be done presently are hurtfully post- 
poned. . . . This is only an outline of a business day and 
its surroundings, but it will serve, perhaps, to show that 
the life of the president is a very busy one. What con- 
trariety and monotony ! One signature involves the peace 
of the nation, another its financial policy, another the life 
of a man, and the next the payment of ten dollars from 
the National Treasury." l 

Great Statesmen and the Presidency. It is generally 
admitted that, taken as a whole, our presidents have not 
been the greatest statesmen that our country has produced. 
For this a variety of reasons have been assigned. Of those 
who choose a political career, only a few, and those not 
necessarily the greatest, find opportunity to commend 
themselves to their countrymen in such a way as to secure 
them a nomination to the presidency. The methods of 
Congress in large measure cut them off from such oppor- 
tunities. Further, really great men are seldom highly 
>ular men. Mr. Bryce has summed up the reasons for 
the lack of really great men in the list of the presidents 
s: "Great men are not chosen president, first, 
is gi " men are rare in politit >ndly, because 

the method of choice doe- not brinu r them to the top; 

This Country of OuiB," pp. I Mr. Harrison 

wrote this statement, a suite of offices ha- been built fort fie useof the president 



306 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

thirdly, because they are not, in quiet times, absolutely 
needed." l 

Executive Power not Perfect. Like every other govern- 
mental agency ever created, the arrangements by which 
the executive power of our government is organized have 
their defects. It has been pointed out that the supremacy 
of the office, by far the highest in the gift of the nation. 
offers too great a stimulus to ambition — that it lures the 
statesman from the strict path of rectitude and induces him 
to seek popularity at whatever cost. Again, the frequent 
recurrence of the turmoil accompanying a presidential elec- 
tion is looked upon by many as undesirable, particularly 
such agitation is often wholly unnecessary, the issues being 
not real ones but issues manufactured by politicians in 
order to keep or to gain place. The discontinuity of policy 
resulting from our frequent change of presidents is also 
pointed to as a defect. Even when the new president is of 
the same party as his predecessor, there is likely to be con- 
siderable change ; and if of the opposite party, there ensue 
radical changes resulting too frequently in the replacing of 
tried and experienced men by men new to the work. It is 
also noted that at the close of each administration there is 
likely to occur a period of inactivity. The outgoing presi- 
dent hesitates to embark on any new line of policy, since it 
may be completely changed by his successor. 

The Vice President. In the Constitution as it was 
originally adopted the qualifications of the vice president 
were not explicitly stated, though the implication was 
that they must be the same as those of the president. By 
the twelfth amendment, however, it was explicitly stated 
that " no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of 
president shall be eligible to that of vice president of the 

1 Bryce, Vol. I, p. 84. 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 307 

United States." The time of electing the vice president 
and the Length of his term are the same as in the case of the 
president. His only duties are to preside over the meetings 
of the Senate and to succeed the president. In the Senate 
he is a mere moderator. He has no power of appointing 
committees and no vote except a casting vote. The office 
has been generally regarded as of little importance, of so 
little importance indeed that capable men have avoided, if 
possible, a nomination to it. The result is that as a rule 
obscure and inferior men have been elected to the office. 
The danger is not inconsiderable that such men may be 
called upon to fill the presidential chair and discharge the 
duties of an office for which they were never intended. 
Five presidents have died in office. It has been suggested 
this defect in our system be remedied by giving the vice 
president more power, either by giving him a seat in the 
cabinet, or by giving him a vote in the senate, or by both 
these devices. 1 The salary of the vice president is $12,000 
per year. 

Library References. Macy, chap, xxiii, pp. 139-140; Macy, 

First Lessons, chap, xviii ; Dawes, chaps, vi-vii ; Fiske, pp. 230, 

244 ; Bryce, Vol. I, chaps, v-viii, xx-xxi ; Hinsdale, chaps, xxviii- 

ii; Wilson, §§ 1007-1108; Curtis, Vol. I, chap, xxix ; Harrison, 

chaps, iv-x ; Federalist; Madison's Debates of the Federal Convention; 

Wilson. Congressional Government^ pp. 43-52, 242-256; Dole, chaps. 

xiv. xviii; Alton, chaps, x, xii. xvii ; Lalor, Article on Executive; 

dburn, chap. iii. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Describe the executive department of the United States 
rnment. 

2. State the requirements for eligibility to the office of 
lent. Give a full reason for such requirements. 

l SeeTbeodoi relt, " American Ideals," pp. 187-188. 



308 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

3. State the particulars in which the constitutional quali- 
fications of the president and a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives differ. Account for this difference. 

4. What office in the United States is restricted to natural- 
born citizens ? Why this restriction ? 

5. Give the length of term and salary of the president. Give 
reasons for a six-year term with no reelection. 

6. Give in substance the provision of the Constitution in 
reference to the compensation of the president. 

7. Describe the three methods by which the convention 
proposed to elect the president. Describe the method adopted, 
and state why its original purpose has not been accomplished. 

8. Explain why the manner provided in the Constitution for 
choosing the president by electors was preferred to other methods 
that were proposed. 

9. How is the vice president chosen? Over what body 
does he preside? 

10. What is meant by the electoral college? What deter- 
mines the number of electors to which a state is entitled? To 
how many electors is this state entitled? 

11. State how a member of the electoral college is chosen, 
and mention his chief duty. 

12. Give arguments for or against choosing the president by 
direct popular vote. 

13. Give arguments sustaining the present mode of electing 
the president and vice president. 

14. Describe the manner of choosing a president in case the 
electoral college fails to elect. State the limitations under 
which this is done. 

15. Describe the manner of choosing the vice president in 
case no person has a majority of all votes cast by the electoral 
college. 



PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT 309 

16. In case of death of both president and vice president, 
who then becomes president? State the substance of the 
present law of the presidential succession. 

17. Does the president personally appear before Congress and 
deliver his message? 

18. Mention three leading powers of the president, and give 
two powers possessed by the president subject to approval by 
the Senate. 

19. Mention with reference to the president (1) two execu- 
tive powers, (2) one legislative power, (3) one judicial power. 

20. What judicial power has the president ? 

21. What is meant by "reprieve," "pardon," "commuta- 
tion " ? Explain why the chief executive is given power in these 
matters. 

22. How does the Constitution make the president responsible 
for legislation? 

23. What is the president's message? Briefly describe it. 

24. Give in substance the provision of the Constitution re- 
garding the power of the president to convene and to adjourn 
Congress. 

25. What is the veto power? Explain the importance of the 
veto power in a republic. 

26. "The issue is now with Congress. Prepared to execute 
every obligation imposed upon me by the Constitution and the 

. 1 await your action." Comment on the powers and duties 
the president and of Congress, referred to in this extract from 
Pre>ident McKinley's message on the Cuban question (1898). 

27. What are treaties, and by whom may they be made tor 
the United Stati 

28. Describe the process of making and ratifying a treaty. 

29. In whom i- vested the power to appoint ambassadors? 

30. Give the constitutional qualifications of the vice presi- 

•it. 



3io ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. The laws enacted by Congress (1910) were regarded "as a 
presidential victory," since President Taft had recommended 
the more important of these. Is it the tendency to "coerce" 
Congress or to recommend ? Is this a tendency on the part of 
the governor? If so, what will be the ultimate effect upon our 
form of government ? 

2. At different times an appeal has been made to senators, 
representatives, cabinet officers, and even to the president to 
influence state legislatures to pass certain laws (for example, 
the direct-primary law in New York State in iqio). Is this an 
encroachment upon the right of a state to be free in matters of 
"home rule"? 

3. Should the Speaker of the House of Representatives be also 

a member of Congress, or should he be chosen simply for his 
ability as a presiding officer and parliamentarian and hold no 
other office? 

4. Resolved: That only natural born citizens of the United 
States, or naturalized citizens who have lived continuously in 
the United States for a period of twenty-one years or longer, 
shall be eligible to hold any office whatsoever under the federal 
government. 

5. Resolved: That the proposed amendment to the federal 
constitution, providing for national prohibition of the liquor traffic. 
submitted to the states by the Sixty-fifth Congress, should be 
ratified by the state legislatures. 

6. Resolved: That all pupils in public and private elementary 

schools be taught the common branches in the English language. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT: PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 

The Cabinet. Unlike the presidency, the cabinet was 
not created by the Constitution. When the organization 
of the executive power was under discussion, it was pro- 
posed that an executive council be created to act as a check 
upon the president, and there was also some discussion as 
to the wisdom of forming an advisory body to assist him, 
without giving it any power to control his action. Neither 
of these plans received the sanction of the Convention, and 
the Constitution makes no provision for a body possessing 
the character and functions of the president's cabinet. The 
only approach to such a provision is found in the clause 
giving the president the right to " require the opinion in 
writing of the principal officer in each of the executive de- 
partments upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices. " There were, then, to be executive de- 
partments whose chief officers were to advise and otherwise 

>ist the president ; but it was evidently contemplated by 
the Convention that such assistance would be required from 
each separately, not that they would be formed into a coun- 
cil for the purpose of consulting and advising upon matters 
of general administrative policy. The executive depart- 
ments have been created by acts of Congress, but the cabi- 
net, with its peculiar functions, though made up of the heads 
oi these departments, is the creation neither of constitu- 
tional nor of statute law. Its relations to the president and 

3" 



312 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

to Congress have been determined by custom only. It has 
no legal position as an advisory body, and the president is 
in no way legally bound by its advice, though its opinion 
may and usually does have influence with him. 
official record is kept of cabinet meetings. 

Relations of Cabinet Officers to President. The head 
of an executive department is more than a mere adminis- 
trator of the business of his department. The actual per- 
formance of such duties can be intrusted to the assistant 
secretaries, the heads of bureaus, and minor officials ; but 
the secretary must understand his department as a whole, 
must know its need, must see that it is administered in con- 
formity with the policy of the administration. His function 
as member of the cabinet is even more important than his 
function as head of the department. He is first of all the 
president's adviser, not only in regard to the business of his 
own department, but in matters of general policy as well. 
Under our present system of party government, therefore, it 
is important that there should be harmony in the cabinet if 
a policy is to be chosen and consistently pursued. The sec- 
retary ought to be not only of the president's political party 
but also in close personal sympathy with him. It is now 
thoroughly understood that if a cabinet member finds him- 
self out of harmony with the president's policy, it is his 
duty to resign or the president's privilege to remove him. 
It is for this reason that the president is given so free a hand 
in the choice of his cabinet, and partly for this reason also 
that he usually forms an entirely new cabinet upon his 
accession to office, even though he may be of the same 
political party as his predecessor. All cabinet members are 
appointed by the president, nominally with the consent of 
the Senate (though the Senate practically never refuses its 
consent), and all receive the same compensation, $12,000 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 313 

per annum. The president alone has the power to remove 
cabinet officers. 

Executive Departments: Organization. The executive 
departments are very thoroughly organized. They are di- 
vided first into bureaus, each with a commissioner at its 
head, who is directly responsible to the secretary; the 
bureaus are again divided into divisions, each with its chief 
of division responsible to the commissioner; while subordi- 
nate to these chiefs of division and responsible to them is the 
at army of clerks employed in the administrative work 
of the government. 

Executive Departments: History. Those departments 
whose heads form the president's cabinet have been 
created from time to time by acts of Congress, as the need 
for them became apparent. When the government was 
organizing under the Constitution in 1789, Congress created 
three departments — the Department of State, the Depart- 
ment of the Treasury, and the Department of War ; and the 
heads of these departments (called secretaries), together 
with the Attorney-General, whose office was created the 
same year, formed Washington's cabinet. The depart- 
ment over which the Attorney-General has control — the 
Department of Justice — was not created until 1870. In 
1798 there was added the Xavy Department, naval affairs 
having been up to this time attended to by the War De- 
tment ; and in 1829 the Postmaster-General, whose office 
had existed since colonial times and whose department had 
n conducted since it- creation in 1794 as a part of the 
.t>ury Department, was made a cabinet member. The 
partment of the Interior was added in 1849. A Depart- 
ment of Agriculture was organized in 1862, but its head was 
not made a cabinet officer until 1889. Finally, in [913, the 
lartment of Labor was established. It will be seen, then, 



314 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

that the creation of a new executive department and the 
calling of its chief officer into the president's cabinet are 
not always coincident. The departments have t>een created 
in the following order : State, Treasury, War (1789) ; Post- 
office (1794); Navy (1798); Interior (1849); Agriculture 
(1862) ; Justice (1870) ; Commerce (1903) ; Labor (1913). 
Their chief officers have become members of the president's 
cabinet in the following order : Secretary of State, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney-General 
(1789) ; Secretary of the Navy (1798) ; Postmaster-General 
(1829) ; Secretary of the Interior (1849) I Secretary of 
Agriculture (1889) ; Secretary of Commerce (1903) ; Secre- 
tary of Labor (1913). 

State Department. The chief cabinet officer is the 
Secretary of State, commonly called the head of the cabinet. 
At cabinet meetings he occupies the seat of dignity at the 
right of the president. His chief duty is the conduct of 
foreign affairs ; and since the president, because of the pres- 
sure of other business, is compelled to give him a very free 
hand, he practically controls the foreign policy of the nation, 
subject only to the restraints imposed by the Senate. Thus 
he is brought much more prominently into public notice 
than are the other cabinet officers. It is his business, ex- 
cept in cases where special officers have been appointed for 
the purpose, to conduct all negotiations with foreign coun- 
tries. He receives the representatives of foreign powers and 
presents them to the president, conducts all official corre- 
spondence with them, carries on all necessary correspond- 
ence with United States ministers and consuls to foreign 
countries, and issues passports to citizens of the United 
States who wish to travel abroad. All these duties are 
concerned with foreign affairs, but he has also some domestic 
duties to perform. It is through him that the president 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 315 

communicates with the executives of the states, and to 
him is given the custody and publication of the laws and 
treaties of the United States and the custody of the 
great seal (the official seal of the United States). He 
is given three assistant secretaries, and his department 
is divided into seven bureaus: the Diplomatic Bureau, 
the Consular Bureau, the Bureaus of Indexes and Archives, 
of Accounts, of Rolls and Library, of Appointments, and 
of Passports. 

Treasury Department : Financial Duties. The second 
of the great executive departments is that of the Treas- 
ury. It concerns itself principally, as its name implies, 
with the finances of the nation, but not exclusively, for it 
performs also a great variety of miscellaneous duties. The 
principal financial duties of the Secretary of the Treasury are 
to estimate the probable revenues and the probable expen- 
ditures of the government, and to prepare plans for the 
creation and improvement of the public revenue. These 
estimates and plans he submits to Congress in his annual 
report, in order to furnish that body with some sort of 
guide in the making of appropriations and the imposition 
of taxes. It is his duty also to superintend the collection 
of revenue, to issue warrants for the payment of all money 
from the United States Treasury, and to superintend the 

inage and printing of money. 

Intcrnal-Rrccnue Bureau. We have already seen that 
the sources of the national revenue are customs, or import 
duties, the income tax, and excises, or internal taxes of 
variou> kind-. Until the outbreak of the Civil War the 
ited States had no permanent system of internal taxa- 
tion. Then, in 1862, an Internal-Revenue Bureau was 
organized under the Treasury Department, and a 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue was appointed. 



316 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Treasurer. All money belonging to the United 
States is in charge of the Treasurer of the United States. It 
is his duty to receive all revenue and to pay it out on the 
warrants issued by the Secretary of the Treasury or by a des- 
ignated assistant, to redeem the notes of the national banks, 
and to manage the independent treasury system. This sys- 
tem was established by Congress at the suggestion of Presi- 
dent Van Buren in 1840, for the purpose of making the 
United States the custodian of its own money instead of de- 
positing it with private corporations ; but the law establish- 
ing it was repealed the next year, and not reenacted until 
1846, during President Polk's administration. Besides 
the main Treasury at Washington, subtreasuries have 
been established at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, 
and San Francisco. 

War Department: Military Duties. The War Depart- 
ment, as its name implies, has control of the military affairs 
of the nation ; but it acts also as a department of public 
works and has contributed not a little toward the advance- 
ment of science by conducting the exploring expeditions sent 
out from time to time by the government. With the ex- 
ception of the Secretary of War and the Assistant Secretary 
the principal officers are officers of the United States army. 
Of those whose duties are strictly or mainly military the 
most important are the Adjutant-General, whose duty it is 
to issue orders for the muster and the movement of troops, 
to conduct the correspondence of the department, and to 
keep the records ; the Inspector-General, who inspects all 
military posts, all public works carried on by army officers, 
all military prisons, and the military academy, and reports 
as to equipment, discipline, sanitary conditions, finances, 
etc. ; the Quartermaster-General, who has charge of the 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 317 

clothing and general army supplies ; the Commissary- 
General, who attends to the food supply; the Surgeon- 
General, who superintends the medical service ; the Chief 
of Ordnance, who attends to the supply of arms; the 
Judge-Advocate-General, who reviews and records the pro- 
ceedings of all courts-martial and courts of inquiry, and 
acts as legal adviser to the department; and the Chief 
Signal Officer, who superintends all military signaling 
by means of flags, heliograph, or other devices, and who 
has charge of the construction and operation of military 
telegraph lines. The supervision of the military academy at 
West Point is also a part of the work of the department. 

Public Works. It is through the Chief of Engineers and 
his corps that the War Department performs in large meas- 
ure the functions of a department of public works. Under 
their direction, fortifications are located and constructed, 
bridges and docks are designed and built, and great sums 
of money are expended annually in improving rivers and 
harbors. The building of the Panama Canal was in charge 
of this department. 

Department of Justice. Though the Department of 
Justice was not created until 1870, the office of Attorney- 
General, as the chief officer of the department is called, has 
existed since 17S9. He is the legal adviser of the president 
and of the heads of departments, has the general supervi- 
sion of the work of the United States district attorneys and 
marshals, conducts all suits to which the United States 
1 party, is in general lk public prosecutor and standing 
counsel " for the United States. The law officers of the 
various departments are under his direction and control. 
The work of the department is very large and the office 
of Attorney-General one of the most important and 

sponsible under the government. 



318 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Post-Office Department (see also p. 247). The Post- 
master-General is the head of the department. The work is 
divided among four bureaus, each in charge of an assistant 
postmaster-general. These assistants have the general 
management of the post offices, of transporting the mails, 
of providing for stamps, of managing the finances, of ap- 
pointing certain classes of postmasters, and of directing the 
inspectors. They provide for the free delivery and collec- 
tion of the mail, for a money-order and registry system, 
lor rural free delivery over routes aggregating 1,021,492 
miles (in 191 2), for a railway mail service, for the establish- 
ment of star routes (mail routes other than railways and 
steamship lines), for a parcel post for packages weighing 
not over fifty pounds, and for a postal savings bank where 
deposits of $1 or multiples of Si up to S500 may be made 
on the certificate plan, the government guaranteeing the 
payment of both principal and interest. The rate of 
interest is two per cent. The Postmaster-General has the 
power of appointing all the officers of the department ex- 
cept the assistant postmasters-general and the postmasters 
whose salaries are $1000 or more. He may also, with the 
consent of the president, let contracts for the transportation 
of mail and make postal treaties with foreign countries. 

Navy Department. Until the establishment of the De- 
partment of the Navy in 179S, naval matters were looked 
after by the War Department. The Navy Department has 
general superintendence of the construction, manning, equip- 
ment, and employment of war vessels. These duties it per- 
forms by means of seven bureaus, whose heads are naval 
officers. These are the bureaus of Yards and Docks, Equip- 
ment and Recruiting, Ordnance, Construction and Repair, 
Steam Engineering, Supplies and Accounts, and Medicine 
and Surgery. Their duties are indicated by their names. 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 319 

The supervision of the naval academy at Annapolis and 
of the naval observatory at Washington is also a part of 
the work of the department. 

Department of the Interior. This department, which 
is under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, per- 
forms, like the Treasury Department, a great variety of im- 
portant functions. There are two assistant secretaries in 
the department, besides six commissioners and two directors. 
The titles of these commissioners and directors give some 
idea of the scope and character of the work of the depart- 
ment. They are the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office, the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner 
of Pensions, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Com- 
missioner of Railroads, the Commissioner of Patents, and 
the Director of the Geological Survey. 

The Land Office. The most important bureau of the 
department is the general Land Office, which has charge of 
all the public lands of the United States, and whose duty it 
is to direct the survey and sales of this property and to issue 
titles to it. At different periods during its history the United 
States has in various ways come into possession of vast 
tracts of territory. The first of these public lands, it will be 
remembered, was known as the Northwest Territory, its 
cession to the United States by the states claiming it being 
completed in 1786. Later North Carolina, South Carolina, 
and Georgia ceded their claims to western lands, and 
since then the government has obtained enormous tracts 
by purchase, by conquest, or by both, and by annexa- 
tion. Among these additions may be mentioned the Lou- 
na purchase from France (1803), the purchase of Florida 
fr<»m Spain (1821), the purchase of Alaska from Russia 
the acquisition of extensive territory from Mexico 
(1848) as the result of the war with Mexico, the annexation 



320 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

•of Hawaii (1898), the acquisition of islands as a result 
•of the war with Spain (1898-9), and the Canal Zone 
{1903). 

System of Surveys. Under the direction of the Land 
Office large portions of this vast domain have been disposed 
of in various ways. Before any disposal could be made of 
them, however, it was necessary that they should be sur- 
veyed. Accordingly a system of surveys, known as the 
rectangular system, was very early adopted. A base and 
a meridian line crossing each other at right angles were first 
laid off, and from these the land was divided into rectangular 
townships, each six miles square. Each township was di- 
vided into sections of 640 acres each, and each section into 
quarter sections. Each section was numbered, and - 
tion 16, and later sections 16 and 36, were set apart for 
the support of the common schools. 

• Land Grants. Besides these grants in aid of educa- 
tion other large grants of public lands have been made to 
the states for educational purposes. The states have also 
received from the general government large grants of swamp 
and saline lands and large grants of other land for purposes 
of internal improvement. Between 1S2S and 1846 the gen- 
eral government granted to the states for the improvement 
of rivers and the building of canals, wagon roads, railroads, 
etc. a total of 162,230,900 acres. Besides these state 
grants the United States has also given land bounties to 
honorably discharged soldiers and sailors in return for 
military and naval service, the grant partaking somewhat 
of the character of a pension, and has granted large tracts 
to railroad companies, in order to promote the construction 
of railroads and thus develop the country. Many millions 
of acres have also been given to settlers upon compliance 
with certain laws requiring them to settle upon and improve 



PRESIDENTS ASSISTANTS 321 

the land. Thus groat numbers of settlers from the eastern 
states and from Europe have found homes in the West. 

Bureau of Education. The Commissioner of Education 
through his bureau collects statistics as to the condition and 
progress of education in the various states and in foreign 
countries, for the purpose of aiding in the establishment and 
maintenance of efficient school systems. Except in Alaska 
the commissioner has only advisory power in the actual 
operation of the school systems. There he directs their 
management. 

Pension Bureau. The Pension Bureau examines and 
adjusts all claims for pensions or bounty lands given in re- 
turn for military or naval service rendered in time of 
war. In 1914 there was paid out in pensions the sum of 
$173,444,231, a sum nearly $35,000,000 larger than in 1900. 
Thus the expenses of wars long since ended accumulate 
to hinder the progress of civilization. The question as 
to the advisability of granting pensions so liberally as 
has been done by our government has been much dis- 
cussed. Mr. Harrison says of it : " There are two views 
of the pension question — one from the Little Round Top 
at Gettysburg, looking out over a field sown thickly with 
the dead, and around upon bloody, blackened, and maimed 
men cheering the shot-torn banner of their country ; the 
other from an office desk on a busy street, or from an 
endowed chair in a university, looking upon a statistical 
table." l 

Bureau of Indian AJfairs. One very interesting branch 

of the work of the Interior Department is that conducted 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Dp to 1871 the Indian 

tribes were treated by the government as independent 

nations, but a law passed that year made them the " wards. 

1 Harrison! p. 285. 



322 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of the nation/ ' Their interests are now protected under 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs by a Board of Indian Commis- 
sioners, whose duty it is to oversee the expenditure of money 
and inspect the goods purchased for them ; by a number of 
inspectors, who visit the agencies to examine into their 
condition ; and by agents, who with the aid of teachers, 
mechanics, and farmers, try to promote civilization among 
them. The Indian schools at Hampton and Carlisle are 
also under the supervision of the bureau. 

Commission of Railroads. It is the business of the 
Commissioner of Railroads to receive the reports and to 
examine the books and accounts of the railroads that have 
been aided through land grants or otherwise by the govern- 
ment, and to see that the laws relating to the management 
of those roads are enforced. 

Patent Bureau and Geological Survey. The work of 
the Patent Bureau and the process by which patents are 
secured have been considered elsewhere (p. 248). In addi- 
tion to the work of the bureaus outlined above, the Depart- 
ment of the Interior also conducts the work of the Geological 
Survey under the immediate control of an officer called a 
director. The work of the Geological Survey is to examine 
the geological structure and to determine the mineral re- 
sources and mineral products of the United States. The 
survey of the forest reserves is also conducted by this bureau. 

Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agricul- 
ture is directly concerned with the improvement of farm life 
and conditions. To this end it supervises numerous ex- 
periment stations, assists state agricultural colleges, intro- 
duces new crops and improved breeds of animals, studies 
plant and animal diseases, distributes free of charge informa- 
tion which tends to improve agricultural conditions, and 
in many other ways renders an efficient public service. In 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 323 

Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and Porto Rico it has established 
experiment stations under its own immediate direction. 
The Department of Agriculture consists of numerous bureaus 
and divisions, the chief of which and a few of their more 
important duties are here given. 

Weather Bureau. Through the Weather Bureau the 
country is advised of forecasts and warnings of storms (a 
service of great importance to shipping and commerce), of 
frosts, cold waves, of floods, temperature and rainfall, and 
is furnished information of great value to navigation, com- 
merce, and agriculture. 

Bureau of Animal Industry. This bureau concerns itself 
with matters pertaining to live stock. It investigates, 
controls, and eradicates disease among animals ; it inspects 
and quarantines live stock to check disease ; it inspects 
meat and meat food products and gives valuable aid to 
animal husbandry and dairying. 

Bureau of Plant Industry. The thirty-one divisions of this 
bureau concern themselves with plant life in all its relations 
to agriculture. A scientific study of edible and poisonous 
plants, plant diseases and their eradication, diseases of 
trees and of garden vegetables is made, and many similar 
services rendered. 

In addition the department includes the bureaus of 
Chemistry, of Soils, of Entomology, of Biological Survey, 
of Forest Service, and of Crop Estimates. The offices 
of Public Roads, of States Relations Service, of Extension 
Work, of Home Economics, and of Markets constitute 
parts of the Department of Agriculture. 

Department of Commerce. The Department of Com- 
merce and Labor was established by Congress in 1903, and 
the hearl of the department made a cabinet officer. In 1913 

•ngress divided this department and created the Depart- 



324 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

ment of Commerce and the Department of Labor. The 
Department of Commerce consists of the Bureau of the 
Census, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Bureau of 
Fisheries, the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commci 
the Bureau of Lighthouses and Lighthouse Service, the 
Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of Standards, and the 
Steamboat Inspection Service. 

The service to the country devolving upon the Secretary 
of Commerce through these bureaus may be briefly summed 
up as follows : The administration of the lighthouse sen 
the establishment and maintenance of aids to navigation, 
taking the census, making the coast and geodetic survi 
the collection and publication of statistics on foreign and 
domestic commerce, the investigation of markets for Ameri- 
can products, the inspection of steamboats and the enfor 
ment of laws pertaining thereto for the protection of life and 
property, the propagation of food fishes and the supervision 
of the Alaskan fur-seal and salmon fisheries, jurisdiction 
over merchant vessels, including their registry, measure- 
ment, licensing, entry, clearance, etc., and the enforcement 
of the act requiring wireless equipment on vessels, the 
standardization of weights and measures, the formation of 
regulations in conjunction with the Secretary of the Tn 
ury and the Secretary of Agriculture for the enforcement 
of the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Insecticide Act, 
and to make such special investigations and furnish such 
information in the foregoing bureaus as Congress or the 
president may require. 

Department of Labor. The Department of Labor was 
created by Congress in 1913, and the head of the department 
made a cabinet officer. This department is charged with the 
responsibility of fostering, promoting, and developing the 
welfare of the wage earners of the United States, improving 



PRESIDENTS ASSISTANTS 325 

their working conditions, and advancing their opportunities 
for profitable employment. The department consists of 
the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Naturalization 
and Labor Statistics, and the Children's Bureau. 

The Bureau of Immigration prepares and revises all regu- 
lations pertaining to immigration, decides questions as to 
the right of aliens to enter this country, investigates sup- 
posed violations of the alien-contract-labor laws, and super- 
vises the work done by the inspectors of immigrants. 

The Bureau of Naturalization has full charge of the ad- 
ministration of the laws regarding the naturalization of 
foreigners, that is, of the laws which make it possible for a 
citizen of a foreign country to become a citizen of this. 

The Bureau of Labor Statisties collects full and complete 
statistics each year concerning the conditions of labor and 
the products, and distribution of the products, of labor, 
and these become the basis of the action of the secretary. 

The Children's Bureau investigates and reports to the 
department all matters pertaining to the welfare of children 
and child life among all classes of our people, especially 
such questions as infant mortality, the birth rate, orphan- 
age, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, 
Ments and diseases of children, employment, and legisla- 
tion affecting children in the several states and territories. 

The department has established a chain of employment 
office- throughout the country and renders valuable aid to 
the unemployed. 

Federal Trade Commission. In 1914 Congress es- 
tablished the Federal Trade Commission consisting of five 
members, each commissioner to receive a salary of $10,000 
r. In order to prevent unfair competition in busi- 
ommission lias power to investigate the organi- 
zation, conduct, and management of the business of any 



326 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

corporation, joint-stock company, or corporate combination 
engaged in commerce among the several states and with 
foreign nations, except banks and common carriers, and to 
gather such information and data as will enable the presi- 
dent of the United States to make recommendations to 
Congress for legislation for the regulation of such commerce, 
and to report to the president from time to time such data 
as he shall require ; and the information so obtained, or as 
much thereof as they may deem expedient, shall be made 
public. The commission has power to order that unfair 
competition shall cease in any given case after a hearing 
has been granted. The order of the commission has all the 
force of a court order until set aside. Orders of the com- 
mission may be set aside by the United States Circuit 
Court of Appeals. 

Independent Boards and Commissions. In addition to 
the regular executive departments there have been created 
at different times commissions and boards executive in char- 
acter though not connected with any of the departments. 
Among these are the Civil Service Commission and the In- 
terstate Commerce Commission. Special officers or boards 
exist also for the purpose of conducting the work of the 
Government Printing Office, of the Library of Congress, of 
the Smithsonian Institution, of the National Museum, and 
of the Bureau of Ethnology. The work of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission has been already described (p. 237). 
The Civil Service Commission consists of three commis- 
sioners, only two of whom may be of the same political 
party, appointed by the president with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate. There are also a chief examiner and a 
secretary. It is the duty of the commission to provide for 
competitive examinations to test the fitness of candidates 
for the civil service, and to regulate and improve that service. 



PRESIDENT'S ASSISTANTS 327 

Library References. Macy, chaps, xxiv-xxv, xxvii-xxxi ; Macy, 
First Lessons, chap, xix ; Dawes, chaps, viii-ix ; Bryce, Vol. I. chap. 
i\ Fiske, pp. 244-250; Harrison, chaps, xi-xix ; Wilson. &$ 1109- 
1120; Hinsdale, chap, xxxiii ; Curtis, Vol. I, pp. 574-576; Congres- 
sional Directory; Wilson, Congressional Government, pp. 257-275. 
■293; Dole, chap, xiv ; Lalor, Article on State Department, 
ury Department, etc. ; Woodburn, pp. 1S9-1Q3. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Was the cabinet contemplated by the Constitutional Con- 
vention or provided for in the Constitution? Discuss fully. 

2. Name with their titles the persons composing the presi- 
dent's cabinet. How are the members of the cabinet chosen? 

3. (a) Describe the parcel-post system, (b) How does it 
affect the express business? 

4. Through what department does the United States con- 
duct its business with other nations? 

5. Describe the duties of the Adjutant-General ; Inspector- 
General ; Quartermaster-General. 

6. How many classes of mail are there? What are the 
postal rates for each? In which class do letters belong? 

7. What are the principal duties of the Department of the 
Interior? Mention the two ways of looking at the pension 
question as given by ex-President Harrison. 

8. What is meant by " preemption of public lands " ? by 
" a homestead claim " ? by " a timber claim " ? 

9. What direct aid has the United States government given 
ducation in the different states? 

10. Mention two duties of the Commissioner of Education. 

11. Upon what grounds has the federal government a right 
terfere with a private business? 

12. What department of the cabinet has charge of taking the 
»nal census? How often and in what years is it tak 

13. What is the civil service? W r hat is the spoils system? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL -COURTS 

Necessity of Federal Judiciary. " Laws arc a dead 
letter without courts to expound and define their true mean- 
ing and operation/' Under the Confederation there existed 
no separate federal judiciary, and the judicial pov. 
vested in Congress were very limited indeed. It had 
become clear that somewhere in the nation there must 
exist an authority empowered to interpret the laws and 
treaties of the United States and to determine whether or 
not acts passed by Congress harmonized with the funda- 
mental law of the land as embodied in the Constitution — 
in other words, to pass upon their constitutionality. It had 
become equally clear that such interpretation could not 
safely be intrusted to the state courts. In the first place, 
such an arrangement would be sure to result in a complete 
lack of uniformity. The same point might and probably 
would be decided in ways as various as the courts before 
which it was brought. In the second place, the state courts 
were unfitted for the work, both because of the nature of 
many of the matters in dispute and because of the charac- 
ter of the parties to federal suits. Matters of a quasi- 
international character, such as admiralty jurisdiction, are 
obviously not matters to be properly adjudicated by the 
courts of any particular state ; nor could state courts be 
completely trusted, because of local prejudices, to do full 
justice between citizens of their own states and citizens of 

328 




The Supreme Court Chamber (above) and the White 
House (below) 

lent Washington selected the site of the White House and laid the corner 
stonr He lived to see it completed. It was partially de- 

stroyed by the British in 1814. After it tone walls were 

painted white to obliterate the marks of the fire; whence the name 

3 2 9 



330 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

another, or between their own states and the federal govern- 
ment. Moreover, state courts, being authorities coordinate 
with and independent of one another, supplied no means 
for settling disputes between states. And since the Con- 
stitution and the federal laws made under it were to be 
applicable not to the states only but to the individual citizen 
as well, it was more than ever necessary that a federal 
judiciary be created to interpret and apply these law-. 

The Federal Courts. The Supreme Court was created by 
the Constitution, and Congress was empowered to provide 
such inferior courts as might be necessary. Changes have 
been made in the system of inferior courts from time to 
time. At present the federal courts consist of a Supreme 
Court, created by the Constitution, and circuit courts of 
appeal, district courts, a Court of Claims, and a Court 
Customs Appeal. For the District of Columbi 
has provided a court of appeals, a supreme court, minor 
justice courts, a police court, and a juvenile court. Federal 
judges are appointed 1)}' the president with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. 

The Judges. If the judicial department of the govern- 
ment was to be made separate from and coordinate with 
the other two departments, it was necessary that tin 
judges should be made as independent of them as possible. 
Moreover, the makers of the Constitution were particularly 
anxious to secure the independence of the judiciary, regard- 
ing this as the surest means of safeguarding the liberties 
of the people from the encroachments of the legislature and 
the executive. Accordingly, the Constitution provides that 
" the judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall 
hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation which shall 
not be diminished during their continuance in office " ; that 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL COURTS 331 

is, their tenure of office is life, and they are subject to re- 
moval only by impeachment, and that is a process rarely 
resorted to. Six times only since the adoption of the 
Constitution has it been employed against federal judges, 
and only three of these trials resulted in conviction. It 
is further provided by the Constitution that judges of the 
Supreme Court shall be appointed by the president with 
the advice and consent of the Senate ; and though no dis- 
tinct provision is made for the appointment of the inferior 
federal judges, the president appoints them under the pro- 
vision of the Constitution which says that the president 
shall appoint all officers not otherwise provided for by the 
Constitution or by Congress. 

Jurisdiction: One Class of Cases. The Constitution 
also defines very clearly the classes of cases over which 
the federal courts may exercise jurisdiction. Over some of 
these cases jurisdiction has been given to the federal courts 
because of the nature of the questions involved ; over 
others, because of the nature of the parties to the suit. To 
the first class belong (1) all cases arising under the Constitu- 
tion, laws, or treaties of the United States ; (2) all cases of 
admiralty or maritime jurisdiction ; and (3) controversies 
between citizens of the same state claiming lands under 
grants of different states. Over cases arising under the 
Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States the juris- 
diction of the federal courts is not exclusive ; that is, such 

- may be begun in the state courts, but if the decision 

of the state courts is adverse to federal authority, these 

an be finally adjudicated only by the federal courts. 

The reason for the rule is clear. The federal authority 

must be the final judge of the extent of federal powers. 

give the state courts power to render final judgment 
in such cases would be to make them, and not the United 



332 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

States, the ultimate authority. Over cases belonging to 
classes (2) and (3) above, the federal courts exercise exclu- 
sive jurisdiction. Maritime and admiralty cases, since they 
affect either commerce or international relations (both of 
which are regulated by the United States and not by the 
states), and since decisions in such cases should be uniform, 
can be properly dealt with only by the United States cou: 

Another Class of Cases. The cases in which jurisdiction 
is given to the federal courts because of the nature of the 
parties to the suit are the following: 

(1) Cases affecting ambassadors, other public minis! 
and consuls ; 

(2) Controversies to which the United States is a party; 

(3) Controversies between two or more states; 

(4) Controversies between a state and citizens of another 
state ; 

(5) Controversies between citizens of different states; 

(6) Controversies between a state or its citizens and for- 
eign states, citizens, or subjects. 

In all these cases the jurisdiction of the federal courts is 
exclusive. As regards the first of these classes it may be 
said that since ambassadors, ministers, and consuls are per- 
sons having an international character, it would hardly be 
fitting that cases affecting them should be dealt with by 
state courts. Similarly, it is not in keeping with the sov- 
ereign character of the United States that it should be com- 
pelled to sue or to be sued in a state court. In all the rest 
of these cases it was felt that a state court would be likely 
to be prejudiced. 

Eleventh Amendment. Two of these classes of contro- 
versies, (4) and (6), have been so far withdrawn from 
federal jurisdiction by the passing of the Eleventh Amend- 
ment as to prevent a citizen or citizens of another state or 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL COURT- 

foreign state from suing a state in the federal court. 
These provisions were doubtk ss r intended to give I 

private individual the right to sue a state, but rather to 

e to the s eui opportunity to appear as plaintiff in a 

[eral court against citizens of other states. The clause 

5, however, soon interpreted (in the case of Chisholm 
decision of the Supreme Court in 17 

applying to cases in which a state is defendant also. 

The decision was received with disfavor and alarm by the 

It was thought that it violated the sense of dignity 

si ate to be dragged into court as defendant at the in- 

ace of a private individual. Accordingly, the Eleventh 
Amendment was proposed by Congress and duly ratitied 
by the states. It provides that " the judicial power of the 
United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit 
in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one 
of the United S - by citizens of another state or by 
citizens or subjects of any foreign state." Under this 
amendment some of the states have found it possible 
to repudiate their debts with impunity. 

Transfer of Cases. Any case that has been begun in a 
state court may be transferred to a federal court, provided 
the defendant can rest his case on a federal law. The Judi- 
ciary- Act of 17S9 lays down the rules for thus removing 

- from one court to the other. It may be done 1 if the 
state court, in judging the case, has dt inst the 

idity of a treaty or a law of the United State- or some 

authority exercised under the United States; or 2 if the 

state court has decided in favor of the validity <>i law 

or » of authority - g .inst the Constitution, laws, or 

- of the United if the state court has 

ided against a privilege, right, title, or immunity claimed 
under the United State- constitution, laws, or treat The 



334 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

reason for the rule is sufficiently clear ; no state construc- 
tion of a federal law can be admitted to be final if that 
construction in any way abridges federal authority. 

Treason. Besides giving to Congress power to establish 
federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, the Constitu- 
tion gives into its hands also the power to declare the punish- 
ment for treason. It defines treason as follows : " Treason 
against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort." While granting this power, 
however, the Constitution takes care to safeguard the in- 
terests of the individual by imposing some limitations. It 
is provided that " no person shall be convicted of treason, 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt 
act, or on confession in open court " ; and, further, that 
" no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or 
forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted." 
Corruption of blood was a punishment sometimes formerly 
inflicted as a penalty for treason or felony. By it the person 
attainted was disabled from inheriting any property, from 
retaining any which he might possess, and from transmit- 
ting any to his posterity. In accordance with the power 
granted it, Congress intrusts the trial for treason to a tri- 
bunal appointed by itself, and has decreed death as a punish- 
ment, or, at the discretion of the court, " imprisonment at 
hard labor for not less than five years, and a line of not 
less than ten thousand dollars.' ' 

The Supreme Court. As noted on page 330, the Supreme 
Court was directly created by the Constitution, and com- 
pensation for the judges provided ; but no limitations 
were imposed as to the number of judges or the amount of 
salary to be paid to each. These details were left to be 
determined by Congress. The number of judges fixed by 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL COURTS 335 

the Judiciary Act of 17S9 was six. This number has since 
been increased to nine, one Chief Justice and eight associate 
justices. The Chief Justice receives an annual salary of 
$15,000, while the associates receive 814,500 each. 

The Supreme Court: its Jurisdiction. The Constitution 
declares in what classes of cases the Supreme Court has 
authority to administer justice. It has original jurisdiction 
(the right to entertain an action from the beginning) in all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and con- 
suls, and in cases to which a state is a party. In other cases 
it has appellate jurisdiction ; that is, cases may be brought 
before it from the inferior federal courts or from state courts 
under certain conditions before described (p. 333). 

The Supreme Court : its Sessions. The sessions of the 
Supreme Court are held annually in Washington, begin- 
ning on the second Monday in October. Except on Satur- 
day and Sunday, sessions are held daily from twelve to 
four. The court room, formerly the Senate Chamber, is 
semicircular hall with a low, domed ceiling. Around 
the room runs a screen of Ionic columns, forming a loggia 
and supporting a gallery. In front is the bench of the court, 
the chair of the Chief Justice in the center, those of the 
ei^ht associates on the sides. The justices appear in black 
gowns. The presence of at least six judges is required in 
order that a decision may be pronounced — a rule that 
doubtless delays the work of the court to some extent, but 
secures a thorough consi deration of every case. The court 
goes over each case twice. First the opinion of the major- 
it} : rtained. This is then written out by one of the 
judges and is reviewed and criticized by the court before it is 
adopted as the judgment of the court. 

Circuit Court of Appeals. Immediately below the Supreme 
Court is the Circuit Court of Appeals, established in 1891 to 



336 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

relieve the Supreme Court of some of its work, which had 
become extremely heavy. The United States is divided 
into nine circuits, in each of which court must be held at 
least once each year. The law of 1891 did not provide for 
separate judges for the Circuit Court of Appeals, but the 
Judiciary Act of 191 1 provided for their appointment by the 
president of the Senate. Each of the justices of the Supreme 
Court is assigned to one of the circuit courts of appeals. 
The Circuit Court of Appeals may review the cases tried in 
the district courts, and its decision is final in a large num- 
ber of cases, such as those arising under revenue, patent, and 
criminal laws, controversies between aliens and citizen-, 
suits between citizens of different states, etc. Questions 
involving the constitutionality of federal laws and treat 
or an act of any state or of the Constitution of the United 
States may be carried to the Supreme Court. Since it is 
relatively easy to raise a question of constitutionality, this 
court has not rendered the relief to the Supreme Court 
which Congress intended. 

District Courts. Immediately below the Circuit Court of 
Appeals are the numerous district courts, of which there are 
about one hundred. The whole United States, including 
Alaska and our island possesions, is divided up into thi 
districts. Each court consists of from one to four judges, 
according to the amount of business to be done. District- 
court judges are appointed by the president and Senate. 
The jurisdiction of these courts extends to all crimes 
and other offenses coming under the authority of the 
United States, including cases resulting from a violation 
of the postal, bankruptcy, internal-revenue, and copy- 
right laws, cases arising under the pure-food laws, 
contract-labor laws, laws relating to immigration, and all 
suits arising under any law relating to trade and commerce, 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL COURTS 337 

the Sherman anti-trust law against the restraint of trade, 
and some others. The thoroughness with which federal 
laws are enforced very largely depends upon the activity of 

the Attorney-General. However, he may be restrained and 
the laws suspended by the pressure of the president, as in 
the ease of the absorption of the Tennessee Coal and Iron 
Company in 1909 by the United States Steel Corporation, 
which was permitted by President Roosevelt. District- 
court judges receive a salary of S6000 annually. 

The Court of Claims. This court, established in 1855, 
consists of a chief justice whose annual salary is $6500, 
and four associate justices, each with a salary of S6000. 
It holds an annual session in Washington for the purpose 
dealing with the claims of individuals against the 
federal government. Cases may be appealed from it to 
the Supreme Court. 

Customs Appeals. In addition to these inferior federal 
courts. Congress has under its control also the Court of 
Customs Appeals, consisting of one chief justice and four 
associate justices appointed by the president and Senate. 
Each such judge receives a salary of S7000 annually. To 
this court must be taken all cases of appeal from the 
decision of the board of general appraisers relative to the 
classification of imports and the duty thereon. 

Marshals and District Attorneys. In order that the 
federal courts may execute the power- intrusted to them. 
there i- u-ually appointed in each district an officer called 
the United States marshal, whose duty it i- to execute the 
warrants or other orders of the district and circuit courts 
and to perform duties corresponding in genera] to those of 
sheritl in the state governments. In ( ase the marshal meets 
with resistance in the performance of his duty, he i> entitled 
all upon the citizen> for assistance. It" the}- cannot or 



338 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

will not help him, or if their help is insufficient, he may apply 
to the government at Washington for the assistance of 
United States troops. Besides this federal sheriff there is 
usually appointed in each district a federal prosecutor 
called the United States district attorney. It is his duty to 
institute proceedings against all persons transgressing the 
federal laws. Both the United States marshals and the 
district attorneys are under the direction of the Attorney- 
General as head of the Department of Justice. 

The Procedure of the Federal Courts is prescribed by 
Congress, subject only to certain limitations imposed by the 
Constitution for the purpose of safeguarding the rights of 
the individual, such as the provision securing the right of 
trial by jury in criminal cases. 

Defects of the Judicial System. The judicial depart- 
ment of our federal government has elicited more applause 
from critics, both at home and abroad, than has any other 
department. Yet it is not without its defects. It has been 
pointed out that in the inferior courts the salaries are in gen- 
eral inadequate, and that in the more populous places the 
staff is insufficient to cope with the business intrusted to it. 
Even the Supreme Court, much as it has been praised, has 
not wholly escaped criticism. It has been said of it that to 
a certain extent it feels the touch of public opinion (a 
tendency that is perhaps inevitable and not wholly to be 
deplored), and that it has not always followed former d< 
sions (a course that tends to unsettle the law). Its weakest 
point, however, lies in the fact that Congress possesses 
the power to change the number of judges constituting 
the court — a power which enables it, if it can secure the 
cooperation of the president, to " pack " the court. Thus, 
if Congress and the president are determined to secure a 
certain decision, Congress needs only to increase sufficiently 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: FEDERAL COURTS 359 

the number of judges, and the president to appoint men 
who will give the desired opinion, in order to accomplish 
their ends ; but while this course is possible, it has never 
vet been resorted to. 

Excellences. On the whole, however, the excellences 
of our judicial system have far outweighed its defects. It 
has proved extremely stable, and. through the independ- 
ence and superior character of the judges in even the inferior 
federal courts, it has done much to counteract the evils 
arising from the existence of an elective and ill-paid state 
judiciary. The Supreme Court has been most highly 
praised, and certainly its most grudging critic must admit 
that it has, on the whole, kept well out of politics, that its 
judges have been men of excellent legal ability and of the 
highest moral character, that it has escaped all suspicion 
of corruption and has maintained to a remarkable degree 
judicial impartiality and its credit and dignity in the 
• eyes of the people. 

Library References. Macy. chaps, xix. xxi-xxii ; Macy. First 
Lessons, chap, xx : Dawes, chap, x ; Hinsdale, chaps, xxxiv-xxxvi, 
xxxviii-xxxix ; Wilson. §§ 1082-1096 ; Fiske, pp. 260-262; Curtis, 
Vol. I. chaps, xxviii, xxx : Bryce. Vol. I. chaps, xxii-xxiv ; Harrison, 
chaps, xx-xxi ; Wilson. Congressional Government, pp. ;.. -40; 

<n, chap, xviii ; Lalor, Article on Judiciary Treason) Woodburn, 
chap. vL 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Give an outline of the system of the United States courts, 
are their members chosen ? 

2. Explain why judges enjoy longer terms of office under the 
ostitution than officers in the executive and legislative depart- 
ments of government. 

3. How may judges of the Supreme Court b 



340 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

4. Mention five classes of cases in which the United States 
courts have jurisdiction. Define " jurisdiction." 

5. Define " treason." How is treason punished ? How may 
a person be convicted of treason ? 

6. Describe the organization and state the principal func- 
tion of the highest court of the United States. 

7. What court decides whether a United States law is con- 
stitutional ? 

8. Mention two classes of cases in which the Supreme Court 
has jurisdiction. 

9. What is meant by lk original jurisdiction "~ J 

10. In what cases has the Supreme Court original jurisdiction? 

11. In whom is vested the power to try cases against for 
ambassadors ? 

12. State, in regard to the judges of the Supreme Court, 
(i) number, (2) Length o\ term, (3) salaries. 

13. Who is the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? 
How long does he hold office ? 

14. Tell what you can of the United States Court of Claims. 

15. Give arguments tending to establish or to controvert the 
following: "The Constitution follows the flag.' 1 

16. Give two defects and two points in favor of the system of 
federal courts. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE STATES IN THEIR RELATIONS TO THE 
CONSTITUTION 

Admission of New States. Even before the adoption of 
the Constitution, the admission of new states into the Union 
was contemplated by the general government. The ordi- 
nance of 17S7 had provided for the formation of states out 

the Xorthwest Territory, and for their admission to the 
Union on terms of equality with the original thirteen ; and 
the new Constitution contained a provision similar in char- 

er but wider in scope. It provided that " new states 
may be admitted by the Congress into this Union, but no 
new >tate shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic- 
tion of any other state, nor any state be formed by the 
junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without 
the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as 
well as of the Congress. " When the Constitution was 
framed, it was the expectation of the framers that all the 
territory then belonging to the United States would ulti- 
mately be formed into states; and the policy thus entered 
upon was subsequently extended to the Louisiana purchase 
and other early additions to the territory of the United 
States. Since the Alaska purchase, however, and the 
more recent addition of our insular po-^essions, serious 
questions have arisen in regard to the policy to be pursued. 

The power to admit or to refuse to admit a territory to 

tehood lie.- with Congress. No community can demand 

341 



342 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

admission as a constitutional right. Neither does admis- 
sion depend upon population, though in general it is readily 
granted when the territory possesses a population as large 
as that of a congressional district. Sometimes, however, 
for political reasons, admission is granted to a territory 
with a much smaller population, as was done in the case 
of Nevada, which was admitted with a population of only 
20,000, mainly for the purpose of securing its vote for the 
Thirteenth Amendment. 

Methods of Admission. Admission to statehood is se- 
cured by one of the two following methods: (1) Upon 
application of the territory, Congress passes an " enabling 
act " authorizing the people to form themselves into a 
state. The governor then calls a convention of delegates 
to draw up a constitution, which must contain no provi- 
sions repugnant to the Constitution of the United States or 
to the Declaration of Independence, and which must pro- 
vide for the new state a republican form of government. 
Sometimes, also, the enabling act has required the new 
state to give over to the United States all title to unap- 
propriated public lands within the territory, to guarantee 
religious liberty, and to provide a system of public schools 
free from sectarian control. When this constitution has 
been ratified by the people of the territory, the act of 
Congress becomes operative and the territory becomes a 
state and may elect its representatives in the usual way. 
(2) Sometimes, however, the territory, before applying 
for admission, has already elected a constitutional con- 
vention and framed a constitution. This it submits to 
Congress for approval, at the same time applying for ad- 
mission. If Congress approves the constitution thus made, 
it passes an act accepting and ratifying it, and the terri- 
tory becomes a state. 




Th. lAPirOL at Albany. X. Y. (above), and the State 

PtTOL at Frankfort. Ky. (below) 

eg are devoted to the work of the covcmor and other 
state aure. In some States the peal state depart- 

Bent- - health, charities, education, correction, safety, banking, 

" ince, finance, and the like are centered in the Capitol building 

343 



344 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Guaranties to the States : Republican Government. 
In order to safeguard the interests of the states, the Con- 
stitution provides certain guaranties. First of all, ii 
provided that the United States " shall guarantee to every 
state in this Union a republican form of government." 
Since the general government was to be a federal republic, 
it was a practical necessity that that of the states should 
be of the republican type. 

Protection against Invasion. In addition to this guar- 
anty to the states it is further provided that the United 
States " shall protect each of them against invasion and, 
on application of the Legislature or of the executive (when 
the legislature cannot be convened), against domes 
violence." The necessity of protecting the states from 
invasion was imposed upon the general government by 
another clause of the Constitution, denying to the states 
the right to maintain troops or ships of war in time of 
peace. In case of invasion no formal application from 
the state for the promised protection is necessary. The 
president is authorized by law to use the army and navy 
of the United States in such cases, or to call out the militia. 
without such application. 

Against Domestic Violence. While the last clause of the 
above provision guarantees to the states the protection of 
the general government against domestic violence also, 
such protection is furnished' only upon application of the 
legislature or of the executive of the disturbed state. The 
presumption is that ever}' state is capable of enforcing its 
own laws and that the state is the best judge of its 
own ability or inability to do so. By the requirement 
that aid be furnished only on the demand of the state, the 
general government is deprived of all opportunity to 
meddle with state affairs under pretext of protecting the 



THE STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION 345 

state. It has been decided by the Supreme Court, how- 
r. in a case growing out of the Chicago riots in connec- 
tion with the great railway strike of 1S94, that in case such 
disturbances interfere with the execution of federal laws, 
the president may send troops to suppress them without 
application from the state. 

Obligations upon the States: Public Records. While 
the Constitution thus guarantees to the states certain priv- 
ileges, it also imposes upon them certain duties toward 
each other. It requires that " full faith and credit shall 
be given in each state to the public acts, records, and 
judicial proceedings of every other state, " and further 
provides that " Congress ma}' by general laws prescribe 
the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings 
shall be proved, and the effect thereof." Legislative acts 
are proved or made authentic by the affixing of the seal 
of the state, and court records, by the certificate of the 
judge, the signature of the clerk, and the affixing of the 
seal of the court, where there is one. It is evident that 
unless the legislative acts and court records of one state 
were accepted in the others, the states would soon be 
involved in endless confusion and litigation. 

Privileges of Citizens. Another of the obligations laid 
upon the states by the Constitution is that they grant to 
the citizens of each state " all the privileges and immuni- 
of citizen- in the several stat- By this provision a 

state is prohibited from denying to citizen- of the United 
States coming to it from outside its own borders any of the 
privileges granted to its own citizen-. It must not regard 
them as alien-; it must not discriminate against them by 
legislation; it must permit them to come and L r <> as freely, 
lire and enjoy property as freely, as it does its own 
citizen-, and must grant them the same legal protection. 



346 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Fugitive Criminals. The Constitution provides also for 
the return of fugitive criminals. " A person charged in 
any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall 
flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on 
demand of the executive authority of the state from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having 
jurisdiction of the crime/' This process of securing the 
surrender of fugitive criminals is called extradition. The 
demand or requisition is addressed by the executive au- 
thority of the state having jurisdiction of the crime to the 
executive of the state in which the criminal is found, and 
it rests with the latter to determine whether the person 
demanded is a fugitive from the justice of the state mak- 
ing the demand. The requisition is made in official form, 
by making complaint on oath or by presenting an official 
copy of the indictment. 

Limitations of State Power. In addition to guarantee- 
ing to the states certain privileges and imposing upon 
them certain duties toward each other, the Constitution 
also lays upon their powers certain limitations, denying 
some powers to them absolutely, others provisional!}'. 

Absolute Limitations: Foreign Affairs. Thus it denies 
to them absolutely the power to do certain acts whose per- 
formance by the states would be a practical denial of the 
supremacy of the national government. It is a function of 
only absolutely sovereign states to enter into treaties, alli- 
ances, or confederations with other powers. To grant such 
a power to the individual states of the Union would be to 
declare them independent of the general government ; hence 
it is expressly denied to them by the Constitution. The 
same is true of the right to grant letters of marque and re- 
prisal. This is a part of the war-making power which 
belongs to the whole nation, not to any single portion of it. 



THE STATES AXD THE CONSTITUTION 347 

To grant it to the states would be to subject the whole 
nation to the risk of being involved in a war at any moment. 
In the Matter of Money the Constitution also lays upon 
the states certain prohibitions. It forbids them (1) to 
coin money, (2) to emit bills of credit, and (3) to make 
anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts. The power of coining money had already been 
granted to the general government for the sake of securing 
uniformity in the monetary system. To have left a like 
power with the states would have been to defeat that end 
and to leave the confusion as great as it had been before 
the adoption of the Constitution. The other provisions in 
gard to money were also dictated by the experience of 
the framers of the Constitution during the Revolution and 
under the Articles of Confederation. When we were study- 
ing the condition of affairs under the Confederation, we 
saw something of the disastrous effects that followed the 
sue of bills of credit (promises to pay, that is, paper 
money) and of making such bills legal tender. 

Personal Liberty. The Constitution also denies to the 
states absolutely the power to interfere w r ith the personal 
liberty and equality of citizens by passing any bill of at- 
tainder, any ex post facto law, or any law T impairing the obli- 
gation of contracts, or by granting any title of nobility. All 
these prohibitions except that in regard to the passing of 
laws impairing the obligation of contracts are laid, not 
upon the states only, but upon the United States as well, 
I and we have already studied their meaning and purpose. 
The clause regarding the obligation of contract-, like so 
many others, was the result of experience. Under the 
; Confederation the power of the majority had often been 
. used to change existing laws regulating contract-. The 
I debtor class in particular had employed this means of 



348 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

escaping their just burdens, and had thus wrought no 
little injustice. 

Provisional Limitations. Besides these absolute limita- 
tions upon the powers of the states there exist also some 
provisional ones. Some of these relate to matters of taxa- 
tion. The states are forbidden, without the consent of 
Congress, to lay any tax upon exports or imports except 
such as may be necessary in order to pay the expense of 
inspection. If a tax is laid and the revenue from it ex- 
ceeds the expense of inspection, all such excess must be 
paid into the national treasury. The inspection laws of 
the state are, moreover, subject to the revision and control 
of Congress. The states are likewise forbidden to lay 
tonnage duties (duties levied on ships according to their 
carrying capacity) except with the consent of Congress. 
It will be remembered that the regulation of commerce 
was one of the powers given into the hands of Congress. 
If that power of regulation were to be effective, it was 
necessary that the laying of import and export duties and 
of tonnage duties should also be under the control of that 
body. In the matter of war also the states are forbidden 
independent action except under certain conditions. They 
are forbidden to keep troops or ships of war in time of 
peace except with the consent of Congress, or to engage in 
war unless actually invaded or in such imminent danger 
that delay is impossible. The object of these restrictions 
is of course to insure the safety of the Union as against 
the states. Closely connected with them is the prohibition 
upon the states to enter into any agreement or compact 
with each other or with a foreign power except with the 
consent of Congress, the object being to prevent any alli- 
ance hostile to the Union or to the exercise of the powers 
delegated to the United States. 



THE STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION 549 

Doctrine of National Sovereignty. Besides stating thus 
distinctly the limitations, both absolute and provisional, 
placed upon the powers oi the states, the Constitution at- 
tempts to define still more clearly the relations between the 
state and the national government as follows: " This Con- 
stitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuanee thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in 
every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Consti- 
tution or laws of an}- state to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing." Moreover, it is further provided that not only every 
United States officer, but every state officer as well, shall 
take an oath to support the constitution of the United 
States. This is the Constitutional statement of the doc- 
trine of national sovereignty, the doctrine of the supreme 
authority of the national government over every state and 
every individual, which was only fully established by the 
Civil War. In interpreting it we must take into account 
always the fact that the national government is a govern- 
ment of delegated powers, and that " powers not delegated 
to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by 
it to the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to 
the people." 

Division of Powers : Reserved Powers. Let us look a 
little more closelv into the meaning of this division of 
powers between the state and the national government In 
modern free governments all governmental powers must be 
conceived of as originating with the people. In our own 

item some of these powers are exercised by the state 
authorities, some by the national authorities. Those be- 

ging to the States are nowhere expressly enumerated. In 
so far as the Constitution defines them at all. it dor- 



350 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

negatively, either by making specific grants of power to the 
national government, by laying express prohibitions upon 
the states, or by reserving certain powers to the whole 
people. All other powers, without definite enumerati 
are reserved to the states. The powers exercised by the 
national authorities, on the other hand, are powers dele- 
gated by the people through specific grants ; and within 
the sphere of the powers thus specifically granted, the na- 
tional authority is supreme. We have already seen that 
certain specific powers are prohibited to the states and that 
certain others are prohibited to the United States. It 
should be noted also that certain powers are denied to 
both these authorities (pp. 258, 346). Thus the sovereign 
people, in order to preserve certain rights believed to be in- 
dispensable, reserved to themselves a sphere within which 
neither state nor national authority can operate. There 
are thus two classes of reserved powers -those reserved 
to the states and those reserved to the people. 

Concurrent Powers. Besides these reserved powers and 
besides those specifically granted to the national govern- 
ment, there should be mentioned another class of powers 
known as concurrent powers — powers that may be exer- 
cised by both state and national government. These con- 
current powers arise through the fact that the mere grant 
of a specific power to the national government does not of 
itself constitute a prohibition upon the states to exercise 
such a power. For example, Congress has been granted the 
power to pass uniform bankruptcy laws and has at various 
times exercised this power. Several national bankruptcy 
laws have been passed and repealed. But the states have 
also possessed and exercised the power to pass bankruptcy 
laws, which, however, cannot apply to existing contracts. 
To be sure, the operation of all such state laws is suspended 



THE STATES AXD THE CONSTITUTION 



OD J 



if, or in so far as, the}- are found to conflict with a national 
law; but upon the repeal of the national law the state 
law becomes again operative, and the state retains as fully 
as ever its power to legislate upon the subject. 

Classes of Powers. To sum up, we may follow Mr. 
Bryce in distinguishing the following classes of govern- 
mental powers in the United States : 

(i) Powers vested in the national government alone; 

(2) Powers vested in the states alone ; 

(3) Powers exercisable by either the national govern- 
ment or the states ; 

Powers forbidden to the national government; 

(5) Powers forbidden to the state governments. 

To these might be added another class — namely, 
(6) powers vested in the people alone and exercisable only 
by the difficult process of amending the Constitution. 

Conflicts of Authority. When conflicts of state and na- 
tional authority arise, it becomes the duty of the courts 
and, in the last resort, of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, to define the limits of state and national jurisdic- 
tion. In making such decisions the courts have followed 
the rule that the state is presumed to have jurisdiction 
wherever its powers have not been limited by the United 
States constitution or its own constitution, while the 
national government possesses a particular power only if 
it can be shown to have been granted, either specifically 
or by implication, in the Constitution. 

Library References. Macy, chaps, xxxix-xli ; Mary. First Lessons, 
chap, ii ; Dawes, chaps, xiv -xv : Hinsdale (haps, xxvii, xl -xlii, 
xliv-xlv. xlix; Fi^kr. pp. 253-258; Wilson, Bryce, 

Vol. I. chaps, xxvii-xxx; Curtis, Vol. I. < haps xxvii -xxviii. xwi - 
xxxii ; Vol. II. (hap. viii ; Wilson, Congressional Government) Intro- 
duction; Lalor, Article on Si ; Woodburn, pp. ;; 



352 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. By what authority are new states admitted into the 
Union ? 

2. Describe the process of admitting a new state into the 
Union. 

3. State and explain the restriction in the constitutional 
provisions for the admission of new states. 

4. Give the provisions of the Constitution by which no state 
need pay more than its just share of taxes. 

5. Give the substance of the constitutional provision regard- 
ing fugitive criminals. 

6. A person having committed a crime in one state flee 
another state; how may he be captured and returned? What 
is this process called? 

7. Give the substance of the constitutional provision regard- 
ing (i) public records; (2) protection to states by the nation. 

8. What powers are reserved to the people? 

9. Mention three important powers denied to the states, and 
give a reason in each case. 

10. Mention two governmental powers held by the United 
States and prohibited to the states. Give a reason in each case. 

11. Define legal tender. Is an American trade dollar a legal 
tender ? 

12. What is the provision of the Constitution regarding the 
laying of duties on imports or exports by any state ? Why is 
this provision necessary? 

13. What prohibition is laid on the states regarding treaties? 
Give the reason for this prohibition. 

14. "The states are forbidden to issue letters of marque, to 
coin money, to emit bills of credit, to pass ex post facto laws, 
or to make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in pay- 
ment of debt." Explain these prohibitions. 



THE STATES AXD THE CONSTITUTION 



0^0 



15. Give the constitutional provision regarding powers 
reserved to states. 

16. Mention two points of difference between the rights 
enjoyed by a state and the rights enjoyed by a territory. 

17. Give in substance the provision of the Constitution 
ling the protection to states by the nation. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE BILL OF RIGHTS: THE INDIVIDUAL IN HIS 
RELATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

The Bill of Rights. When the Constitution was sub- 
mitted to the people for ratification, one of the chief ob- 
jections raised against it was that it contained no Bill of 
Rights — no sufficiently explicit guaranty of the rights of 
the individual against the encroachments of the federal 
power. Several of the states, while ratifying it, accom- 
panied their acceptance with a recommendation that cer- 
tain amendments be added, safeguarding the liberties of 
the individual. Numerous amendments were proposed by 
the various states, many of them covering the same ground. 
The first Congress passed twelve, of which ten were ratified 
by three fourths of the state legislatures and were declared 
in force in 1791. These first ten amendments constitute 
our American Bill of Rights, so called from their resemblance 
to the English Bill of Rights enacted in 1689. 

Restriction only upon the Federal Government. It 
should be noted in connection with these first ten amend- 
ments that they were designed as restrictions upon the 
United States, not upon the states, and that they have 
been so interpreted by the courts. Unless the states are 
specifically mentioned, it is held that the limitations im- 
posed by the United States constitution are imposed on the 
national government only. Thus, if a state should by its 
constitution abolish the right of trial by jury, no national 

354 




This Picture Represents " The Right of the People Peace- 
ably ro Assemble," a Right Guaranteed by the Constitu- 
tion en nn; First Amendment. 






356 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

law, either Constitution or statute, would be brought to 
bear to prevent. The reason for this is clear enough if 
we remember the circumstances under which the Constitu- 
tion came into existence. It was framed in the hope of 
establishing a better government than that of the old 
confederation, and the government created by it was the 
national government, not those of the states. Some of 
the state constitutions existed before the federal, and 
generally guaranteed to their citizens the rights afterward 
provided for in the federal constitution by these amend- 
ments. The federal Bill of Rights was passed in order to 
secure to the citizens of the United States the rights already 
guaranteed to them as citizens of the states by their state 
constitutions; and the limitations of the federal constitu- 
tion, unless otherwise expressly stated, apply to the na- 
tional government and to it alone. 

Classes of Guaranties. Let us look now a little more 
closely at these limitations which the people deemed it 
necessary to impose upon the newly formed government 
in order to protect the citizen against possible encroach- 
ments upon his individual rights. They fall into three 
main classes : (i) provisions guaranteeing to him the right 
of personal liberty ; (2) those guaranteeing the right of per- 
sonal security; (3) those guaranteeing the right of private 
property. 

The Right of Personal Liberty is secured by the several 
provisions of the First Amendment. This attempts to se- 
cure, first of all, freedom of religion, by providing that 
" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." As 
we all know, many of the settlements in this country had 
been made primarily for the purpose of providing a means 
of escape from the restrictions of a State church, and in 



THE BILL OF RIGHTS 357 

such communities the desire for the separation of State and 
Church was natural. Moreover, in view of the religious 
intolerance shown by many of the colonics, and the great 
variety of sects existing there, such a separation provided 
the only means of avoiding religious disturbances. The 
amendment also denies to Congress the power of " abridg- 
ing the freedom of speech or of the press." This right 
of free speech and of a free press is one that our nation 
has guarded jealously — so jealously that it may be ques- 
tioned whether the right is not frequently abused. Finally, 
the amendment provides for securing " the right of the 
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern- 
ment for a redress of grievances. " This right of petition 
had been secured in England by the Bill of Rights of 1689. 
It might be supposed that the mere fact of possessing a 
republican form of government assured such a right to the 
people of the United States, but they evidently wished to 
make a>>urance doubly sure by making the provision a 
part of the Constitution. The right of peaceable assembly 
was not generally recognized in Europe until a later period 
than that of our Constitution. 

The Right of Personal Security (to be secure from in- 
jury in body or character) is guaranteed by a number of 
amendments or part- of amendments. The Second Amend- 
ment secures to each state the right to keep and bear 
arms, the reason assigned in the Constitution itself being 
that a well-regulated militia i> necessary to the security of 

free state. By the Fourth Amendment provision i- made 
1 for security against the unwarrantable seizure of per- 
son 11 as of property. It is required that persons 
|j shall be seized only upon warrant- issued upon probable 
I cause and supported by oath or affirmation, and the per- 
, son to be seized must be particularly described. Especial 



358 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

pains are taken to secure to persons accused of crime every 
opportunity for their vindication and defense. All of the 
Fifth Amendment except the last clause and all of the 
Sixth and Eighth Amendments are devoted to the provi- 
sion of such guaranties. Unless the person accused is a 
member of the army or of the navy or of the militia in 
actual service, he can be held to answer for a capital or 
otherwise infamous crime only on the indictment or pre- 
sentment of a grand jury. 1 If the penalty endangers life 
or limb, he cannot be tried twice for the same offense. He 
cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself, and 
he cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without 
due process of law. By the Sixth Amendment it is pro- 
vided that the accused shall be given a speedy public trial 
by an impartial jury of the district in which the crime was 
committed ; he must be informed as to the nature and 
cause of the accusation; he must be confronted with the 
witnesses against him ; he must be permitted to compel, 
if necessary, the attendance of favorable witnesses ; he 
must be permitted to secure or must be given the assistance 
of counsel for his defense. Finally, by the Eighth Amend- 
ment, the requirement of excessive bail, the imposition of 

1 A grand jury consists, in most of the states, of from 12 to 23 men, chosen 
by lot in every district to inquire into all the offenses committed in the dis- 
trict since the meeting of the last grand jury. Usually cases are brought 
before it by a public prosecutor, who formally charges certain persons with 
particular crimes. If the grand jury thinks the evidence against an ac- 
cused person sufficient to warrant a trial, it returns an indictment (a written 
accusation presented by a grand jury under oath, and upon the suggestion 
of the public prosecutor, to a court having jurisdiction of the offense charged 
therein) or a presentment (a written accusation presented by a grand jury 
upon its own motion, from its own knowledge or upon evidence laid before 
it). When an indictment has been found, the accused is given a copy of 
it and allowed time to prepare his defense. If he is unable to pay for coun- 
sel, the judge must appoint one, whose services are paid for out of the pub- 
lic treasury. 



THE BILL OF RIGHTS 359 

excessive lines, and the infliction of cruel and unusual 
punishments are forbidden. 

The Right of Private Property. Several of these amend- 
ments or parts of them guarantee the right of private 
property. One of the annoyances to which the colonists had 
been subjected by the British government was the billet- 
ing of soldiers upon them. It was probably this experience 
that suggested the Third Amendment, by which it was pro- 
vided that no soldier should be quartered in any house in 
time of peace without the owner's consent ; nor in time of 
war. except in a manner prescribed by law. The Fourth 
Amendment, as we have already seen, makes provision 
linst the unwarrantable seizure of persons and likewise 
tinst unreasonable searches or seizures of property, by 
requiring that searches be undertaken only on warrants 
led upon an oath, attesting a cause and describing the 
place to be searched and the things to be seized ; while the 
last clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that no private 
property shall be taken for public use without just compen- 
ion. Finally, by the Seventh Amendment it is provided 
that in civil suits, where the value in controversy exceeds 
$20, the right to trial by jury shall be preserved, and any 
reexamination of a case thus tried must be conducted ac- 
cording to the rules of the common law. 

General Guaranties. It would seem as if the above 

provisions, together with similar ones contained in the 

Constitution as originally adopted, must furnish ample 

1 security for the rights of the individual ; but in order to 

deprive the federal government still more completely of 

any possible opportunity to encroach upon them, there 

' was added the Xinth Amendment, declaring that " the 

enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not 

construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 



360 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

people/' and the Tenth, already considered elsewhere 
(p. 350), by which all powers not delegated to the United 
States nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the 
states or to the people. 

Library References. Macy, pp. 30-31; Dawes, chaps, xi-xii; 
Curtis, Vol. I, chaps, xxxiv-xxxv ; Vol. II, chap, vi ; Fiske, pp. 269- 
270; Hinsdale, chap, xlvii ; Montgomery, pp. 221-222; Lalur, 
Article on Bill of Rights: Woodburn. pp. 84-85. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. Define "Bill of Rights." 

2. What provision is there in the Constitution regarding free- 
dom of speech and of the press? Discuss briefly the reas 
for this provision. Is it likely to be abused? How? 

3. State the substance of that provision of the Constitution 
which insures religious freedom. 

4. Give in substance that provision of the Constitution that 
secures (1) personal liberty; (2) protection to private property. 

5. What rights are secured by the Constitution to per 
accused of crime ? 

6. What provision is made for trial by jury in civil cast 

7. What does the Constitution provide with referent 
search warrants? Explain the importance of this provision. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

The Public Debt. We have still to consider a few mis- 
cellaneous provisions of the Constitution not studied in 
the preceding chapters. Of these, two concern themselves 
with the national debt, one forming part of the Constitution 
originally adopted, the other a part of the Fourteenth 
Amendment. By the first it was provided that all debts 
contracted before the adoption of the Constitution should 
be as valid against the United States under the Constitution 
as under the Confederation. In this provision the framers 
of the Constitution were merely declaring their adherence to 
the generally accepted principle of public law that a nation 
does not invalidate its debts or other contracts by chang- 
ing the form of its government, but the measure doubtless 
tended in no small degree to inspire confidence in the new 
government. The other provision of the Constitution deal- 
ing with the public debt grew out of the Civil War. It con- 
stitutes the fourth section of the Fourteenth Amendment 
and provides that " the validity of the public debt of 
the United States, . . . including debts incurred for pay- 
ment . . . for services in suppressing insurrection or re- 
bellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
:ior any state shall assume or pay any debt or ob- 
ligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against 
the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipa- 
tion of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and 

361 



362 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

claims shall be held illegal and void." In other words, 
the United States assures the validity of all debts incurred 
in the suppression of the Rebellion, but refuses itself to 
pay and requires the states to refuse to pay any incurred 
in support of the insurrection. 

Ratification. The seventh and last article of the Consti- 
tution proper provided for its ratification. Conventions 
were to be called in the various states for the purpose of 
ratifying the instrument, and the acceptance of nine states 
was to be sufficient for its establishment between those 
states. We have already seen something of the difficulties 
in the way of ratification and of its ultimate accomplish- 
ment (pp. 189-191). 

Amendment. One of the conditions indispensable to 
the permanency of a constitution is a provision for its own 
amendment. States grow and change, and unless their 
constitutions, particularly if they are embodied in written 
documents, provide some means by which they can be made 
to conform in an orderly way to the altered conditions, 
the only recourse is to revolution, peaceful or otherwise. 
One of the chief defects of the Articles of Confederation, 
it will be remembered, was the practical impossibility 
of amending them. Profiting from their experience with 
them, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention at- 
tempted to provide a method of amendment which should 
be thoroughly practicable and should yet be difficult 
enough to prevent hasty and ill-considered changes. 

Possible Methods. As finally provided by Article V of 
the Constitution, amendments may be both proposed and 
ratified by two methods. They may be proposed either 

(1) by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or 

(2) by a convention summoned by Congress at the request 
of the legislatures of two thirds of the states. They may 



MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 363 

be ratified either (1) by three fourths of the states through 
their state legislatures or {2) by three fourths of the states 
through conventions especially called for the purpose. It is 
left with Congress to propose the method of ratification to 
be followed. Some restrictions were laid upon this power 
of amendment, however. The clauses in regard to the 
importation of slaves and the laying of direct taxes were 
not to be affected by amendment, and it was further 
provided that no state should be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate without its own consent. 

Method Used. Up to the present time all amendments 
to the Constitution have been proposed and ratified by 
the first of the two methods described above ; that is, Con- 
-s has framed and proposed the amendments and the 
state legislatures have ratified them. No special conven- 
tions have ever been summoned for either purpose. The 
consent of the president to a constitutional amendment 
has been held by the Supreme Court to be unnecessary, on 
the ground that " an amendment ... is an act in consti- 
tution-making and does not come within the provisions of 
the Constitution investing the president with a negative." l 

Existing Amendments. The number of proposed amend- 
ments that have been brought before Congress for its con- 
sideration is very large, but only twenty-one have ever 
eived the necessary two-thirds vote and been submitted 
to the states. Of these, seventeen only have been ratified 
and become part of the Constitution. These seventeen 
may be divided into three groups. In the first of these 
group- we find the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, 
whose origin and purpose have been already discussed 

hap. XXVI . They are hardly to be considered a- true 
amendments to the Constitution; they " ought to be 

1 Woodburn, p. 154. 



364 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

regarded as a supplement or postscript to it, rather than 
as changing it." In the second group we find the Eleventh, 
Twelfth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Amendments, which, 
though they deal with quite different subjects, may really 
be classed together, since they attempt to correct minor 
defects or meet the expanding needs of a growing democ- 
racy that have become apparent in the actual working of 
the Constitution. These four amendments have also been 
discussed in connection with the matters with which they 
deal (pp. 218, 228, 293, 332). To the third group belong 
the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments 
which grew out of the Civil War and which register in the 
written constitution the political results achieved by that 
struggle. 

Thirteenth Amendment. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, 
and Fifteenth Amendments have not been considered. 
The circumstances under which all three were ratified were 
such that they cannot be regarded as the free expression 
of the existing desires of three fourths of the states. By 
the Thirteenth Amendment slavery, except as a punish- 
ment for crime, is abolished in the United States and in 
all places subject to their jurisdiction. By the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation, freedom had been granted to all slaves 
in the states then in rebellion, but that did not include 
all the slave-holding states, and in certain places slavery 
could still claim a legal right to existence. The amend- 
ment was declared a part of the Constitution in December, 
1865, three fourths of the states having ratified the same. 

The Fourteenth Amendment was a part of the plan of 
reconstruction entered upon at the close of the war. It was 
proposed by Congress in 1866 and declared in force two 
years later. It defines citizenship by declaring that it is 
possessed by all persons born or naturalized in the United 



MISCELLANEOUS PROVISION- 365 

3 .md subject to the jurisdiction thereof, thus making 
the freed slave a citizen. It forbids the - make any 

laws abridging the privileges of citizens, depriving any | 
son of life, liberty, or property without due process oi h 
or denying to any person the equal protection of the 1; 
— provisions likewise intended primarily to secure federal 
protection for the freedman. By section 2 of the amend- 
ment an attempt was made also to secure political rights 
for the negro, by providing that any state denying to male 
citizens twenty-one s ^>ld the right to vote should have 

its representation in Congress cut down in proportion to the 
number of citizens thus debarred from voting. This pro- 
vision has never been made effective. The amendment also 
imposed some political disabilities upon certain classes of 
participants in the war. All state or United S soffi 
who had taken part in the Rebellion were rendered incapable 
of further officeholding until such disability should be re- 
moved by Congress. An act of 1S9S finally removed the 
last disability imposed by this section. 

By the Fifteenth Amendment, proposed by Congress in 
1869 and declared in force a year later, a direct attempt was 
made to secure full political rights for the negro. It had 
become clear that the indirect plan embodied in the second 
section of the Fourteenth Amendment was destined to 
.ain ineffective for a long time, if not forever. The 
Fifteenth Amendment provided that the right oi citi:: 
to vote should not be abridged on account of race, color 
previous condition of servitude. The wisdom of the policy 
that dictated the amendment has been much dis 
Like the second section of the Fourteenth Amendment, it 
has proved ineffective, for wherever the political cons 
quences of the negro vote have been disj sing to the 
white citizens, the states have found means of suj g it. 



366 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Library References. Dawes, pp. 413-417; Hinsdale, chaps, xliii, 
xlvi, xlviii ; Fiske, pp. 269-270; Wilson, §§ 1045-1046 ; Bryce, Vol. 
I, chaps, xxxii ; Curtis, Vol. I, chap, xxxii ; Vol. II, chaps, xi-xii ; 
Lalor, Article on Constitution] Woodburn, pp. 154, 338, 356. 



QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. In what two ways may amendments to the Constitution 
be proposed? State one mode of ratification of an amendment. 

2. How long after its adoption before any amendments were 
made to the Constitution? Give the substance of any of these 
amendments. 

3. How many amendments have been made to the Constitu- 
tion? Explain the purpose of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and 
Fifteenth amendments. 

4. What amendments are included in the Bill of Rights 

5. What are the principal provisions of the amendments of 
the Constitution which have been adopted since the close of the 
Civil War? 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION 

Development of the Unwritten Constitution. In the 
foregoing description of our national government, reference 
has more than once been made to the existence of well- 
established political institutions and usages for which our 
written Constitution makes no provision, but which have 
nevertheless become as fixed a part of the governmental 
machinery as have any of the institutions provided for by 
the written instrument. Such institutions and usages exist 
by the law of the unwritten constitution. By a study of 
Chapter XXX it will be seen that constitutional govern- 
ment may exist under an unwritten constitution — a 
constitution consisting of a mass of well-established prece- 
dents, usages, and statutes — as under a written one, in 
which such fundamental laws find expression in a single 
written document. Xot only is this true, but it should be 
noted also that wherever a written constitution remains 
long in use without undergoing more or less extensive re- 
vision, it does so by virtue of the fact that there grows up 
ide it or within it an unwritten constitution, changing 
and expanding with the needs of the nation living under 
it. This unwritten constitution has been called the flesh 
and blood of the Constitution rather than its skeleton. 
Such a growth has taken place in the United States. Our 
real constitution to-day consists not only of the document 
so carefully 1 by the Convention of 1789, but of 

367 



3 68 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

numerous judicial decisions, legislative acts, and political 
customs, which have originated in attempts to interpret 
or supplement it. Thus, while our Constitution has under- 
gone very little change by way of amendment or revision 
of the written document, it has, by means of its unwritten 
portion, readily adapted itself to the ever-changing needs 
of a rapidly expanding people. 

Original and Inherent Powers. One of the most im- 
portant changes brought about by the growth of our un- 
written constitution is the enlargement of the powers of 
the national government. It has been frequently averred 
that our national government is one of strictly enumerated 
powers — that it can do only those things which it has been 
given the right to do by an express grant of power, or at 
most by implication. This is unquestionably what the 
makers of the written constitution intended. As a matter 
of fact, however, the national government does exercise 
other powers than those expressly delegated to it or im- 
plied in the exercise of its delegated powers. In other 
words, the national government exercises not only delegated 
and implied powers, but original and inherent powers as 
well; and the exercise of such powers has been held by 
the courts to be constitutional. In making the Louisiana 
purchase and in passing the legal-tender acts of the Civil 
War the national government was exercising powers neither 
delegated to it by the Constitution nor clearly implied in 
such grants of power as it had received. A more recent 
example of the exercise of original powers by the national 
government is to be seen in the acquisition of territory 
as a result of the Spanish-American War and in the estab- 
lishment of governments for the acquired territory. 

Presidential Electors only Party Agents. Other in- 
stances of practices and precedents that have all the force 



THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION 369 

of constitutional provisions have been noticed in the pre- 
ceding pages but may be briefly recalled here. In our 
discussion of the electoral college the fact was noted 
(p. 296) that presidential electors are required by party 
custom to vote in the electoral college for the candidates 
selected by their party at the nominating convention and 
at the polls. This custom, though it does not transgress 
the letter of the written constitution, nevertheless defeats 
the purposes of the trainers in creating the electoral college. 
It was intended that this body should be made up of men 
versed in public affairs and acquainted with the merits of 
public men, and that it should exercise a wise discretion 
in its choice of the chief executive. In the first two presi- 
dential elections this ideal was more or less fully attained, 
though even in the second election party influence began 
to make itself felt in the selection of the vice president. 
There was a somewhat general expectation at least that 
for vice president the federalists would vote for John 
Adams and the antifederalists for George Clinton. By the 
time of the third presidential election, party organization 
was sufficiently developed and party influence sufficiently 
strong to control the votes of most of the electors, and by 
the time of the fourth it had become so clearly understood 
that the elector's duty was merely to ratify his party's 
choice, that the struggle centered about the formally nomi- 
nated candidates for president and vice president rather 
than about the electors. Gradually the elector lost every 
-tige of the discretionary power with which the framers 
of the Constitution had intended to endow him, and be- 
came the merest party agent. It is conceivable that an 
elector might be found rash enough to exercise his un- 
doubted legal riu r Ht to vote contrary to the wishes of those 
who elected him, and no legal penalty could be inflicted 



37o ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

upon him, but such a course would mean for him political 
suicide. He would be looked upon as having betrayed a 
public trust and as deserving of the severest condemnation. 
No provision of the written Constitution is more strongly 
safeguarded by the support of public sentiment than is 
this unwritten law requiring the elector merely to register 
the vote of his party. 

Reeligibility of the President. Another unwritten rule 
that has come to have in practice the force of constitutional 
law is the rule limiting the reeligibility of the president 
The written Constitution sets no limit. The existing rule 
that the president shall be reelected but once had its 
origin in the example of Washington. At the close of 
his second term he expressed his intention of declining 
reelection on the ground that the unlimited reeligibility of 
the president was not in keeping with republican institu- 
tions. He deemed it advisable to set the limit at two 
terms. Jefferson, who might also have been elected for a 
third term, followed the example of his predecessor, and 
public opinion set the seal of its approval upon the custom 
so strongly that few serious attempts have been made to 
elect a president for a third term. An attempt in the Re- 
publican convention of 1880 to renominate Grant for a 
third term failed, as did the attempt to nominate Roosevelt 
in 191 2, although he " bolted " his part}', organized a new 
one, thereby forcing his own nomination to be defeated at 
the polls in the November election. The election of a 
president for a third term is a possibility, and, if it should 
occur, would repeal the unwritten rule against it ; but so 
long as the rule commands the support of public opinion, 
it is a part of the unwritten constitution. 

Custom and the President's Power of Removal. It is 
by a rule of the unwritten constitution also that the 



THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION 371 

president possesses the power to remove, without the con- 
sent of the Senate, officers appointed by him with the advice 
and consent of that body. The written constitution does 
not provide for the removal of officers except by the process 
of impeachment. 1 It is obviously necessary that there 
shall reside somewhere the power to remove incompetent 
or unlit officials whose offenses fall short of actual viola- 
tions of law. A debate upon the question as to where 
such power should be lodged arose in the first Congress in 
connection with a bill for organizing the first departments. 
It was held by some members that the consent of the 
Senate was necessary for removal as well as for appoint- 
ment ; by others that the power of removal should belong 
to the president alone. Congress adopted the latter view, 
and it was not until President Jackson's abuse of the 
power revealed its possible danger that the wisdom of 
this construction of the Constitution was seriously ques- 
tioned. Even then no legislative action was taken, and 
it was only when the conflict with President Johnson arose 
that Congress made any attempt to interfere with the 
president's power of removal. By the Tenure of Office Act, 
passed in 1867, the consent of the Senate to the removal 
of presidential appointees was made necessary, and thus 
the construction of the Constitution adopted by the first 
ConLrres^ was set aside. But it was not for long. Just a 
month after the inauguration of the next president came 
the repeal of all those provisions of the act that interfered 
with the president's power of removal, and in 1886 what 
was left of the act was repealed. " It is now generally 
held by publicists of both parties thai the Tenure of Office 

• was unconstitutional and would have been so held 

1 Art. T. Sec. 5. of the Constitution provides that cither house may expel 
a member by a two-thirds vote. 



372 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

by the courts if it could have been tested.' ' ! Since 
its repeal there has been practically no question that 
the power to remove appointees without the consent 
of the Senate is one of the president's constitutional 
prerogatives. 

The Senate and the President's Nominations. CI 
allied with this unwritten rule in regard to the president's 
power of removal is another touching the matter of ap- 
pointments. In accordance with this rule the Senate in- 
variably confirms the president's nominations for cabinet 
officers. The control of other presidential appointments 
has passed very largely into the hands of the Senate. It 
confirms or rejects them on any ground it chooses — for 
party reasons or for even less commendable ones. X"' 
with the cabinet ; the president is allowed a free hand in 
the choice of his immediate assistants, and the Senate con- 
firms his nominations without question. It is, of cow 
conceivable that the president might make a nomination 
so obviously unfit that the Senate would reject it, but 
such a nomination is very improbable. 

The Cabinet and the Unwritten Constitution. This cus- 
tom of unquestioning confirmation by the Senate of cabinet 
nominations finds its justification in the character and func- 
tion of the cabinet itself. The nature of this body as it 
exists to-day, and its relation to the president and to Con- 
gress, are matters governed entirely by the law of the un- 
written constitution. Its function and its relation to 
other branches of the government have been already dis- 
cussed (pp. 3 1 1-3 1 2), but it should be noted that in the 
cabinet we have a political institution of very great im- 
portance which is not only regulated by the law of the 
unwritten constitution but is indeed a creation of it. 

1 Woodburn, p. 189, text and note. 



THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION 3 75 

The Committee System. Another important political 
arrangement which has become a part of our Constitution, 
though the makers of our written Constitution did not fore- 
it or provide for it. is the committee system by which 
Congress accomplishes its work. The system grew up as 
the easiest and most natural method of solving the problems 
confronting the lirst Congress. Congress, unlike the British 
Parliament, had no official leaders charged with the duty of 
preparing measures and presenting them for its considera- 
tion. That duty belonged to the whole body, which soon 
found that the most effective method of accomplishing its 
work was by dividing it among the members. At first 
measures were usually debated in committee of the whole, 
and then there was delegated to a special committee the 
task of preparing a bill in accordance with the conclusions 
reached in the debate. As time went on, permanent com- 
mittees were appointed to deal with certain regularly recur- 
ring lines of business, and thus was gradually developed 
the extensive and complex committee system of the present, 
whose working we have already studied (pp. 270-273"). 

Finally, our Whole System of Party Government, so 
important a part of our real Constitution, has developed 
under the guidance of unwritten law. Our written Con- 
stitution nowhere contemplates such a system, and its 
growth has wrought profound changes in the character of 
our government. The president, who was intended to 
id outside of and above all parties, has become avowedly 
a party leader. The Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives, whom the Constitution barely mentions and who 
- intended to act merely as a presiding officer, has come 
to wield tremendous influence over the course of legisla- 
tion. The development of the party caucus, ^i the party 
ivention, of our whole elaborate party organization and 



374 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

machinery, though not in contravention of the letter of the 
written Constitution, is nevertheless contrary to the wishes 
and expectations of the framers of that instrument. All 
these established institutions, usages, understandings, form 
parts of our unwritten constitution. If the student is to 
arrive at any adequate conception of the true nature of 
our government, he must not lose sight of the existence of 
this ever-changing unwritten constitution side by side 
with the written instrument under which it has grown up. 

Library References. Bryce, Vol. I. chap, xxxiv ; Woodburn, 
pp. 86-93; Hildreth, Vol. IV. pp. 105 \\. ; Curtis, Vol. II, chap, iii ; 
Tiedeman, Unwritten Constitution of the United States; see also 
Library References for Chapter VII. 



QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. State one objection to an unwritten constitution as a 
basis of national government. 

2. Is it the written or the unwritten constitution which 
determines the following: (1) no state has a right, of its own 
motion, to secede from the Union; (2) presidential electors are 
expected to vote for their party nominee. Give reasons for 
your answer. 

3. What determines that a member of the federal House of 
Representatives shall reside in the district from which he is 
chosen? Give reasons for and against this practice. 

4. How is the real business of the federal Senate and House 
of Representatives conducted ? Explain the system. How did 
it come to be established? 

5. The members of the various committees in the federal 
Senate are elective. What is the practice in the House of Repre- 
sentatives ? Explain. 



THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION 375 

6. How may a party caucus in Congress determine legisla- 
tion? Are the members of the party bound by the action of 
the caucus? Is this phase of our government a matter of the 
written or unwritten constitution? Explain. 

7. Under our written Constitution, has the federal govern- 
ment the right in matters essentially national to exercise such 
original and inherent powers as belong to a sovereign state? 
Explain. 

8. What is meant by "senatorial courtesy''? How far is it 
applied in the matter of presidential appointments? Explain. 

9. By whom are the presidential appointees removable? 
Is this matter determined by constitutional provisions? Ex- 
plain. 

10. How was the cabinet created ? What regulates its action 
and its relation to the president and to Congress? Discuss 
fully. 

11. What penalty is inflicted for violations of the provisions 
of the unwritten constitution? What would happen, for in- 
stance, if a presidential elector should vote contrary to the 
wishes of his party, or a member of Congress to the decision of 
his party caucus? 



CHAPTER XXIX 
STATE GOVERNMENTS 

In our study of the federal Constitution we have already 
considered the relation of the states to the national govern- 
ment (Chapter XXV). We must now attempt to outline 
in a general way the government of the states themsehfl 

National Expansion since 1789 has been very rapid. At 
that date there were thirteen states, with an area of y>2^20 
square miles, 1 whose population by the census of 1910 is 
37,310,849. Three new states have been made from parts 
of these, and thirty-two others have been added, with an 
area of 2,632,360 and a population of 54,661,417. " West- 
ward," indeed, " the course of empire takes its way," and 
the power which New England and her sister states once 
exercised in politics is now shared with, if not entirely 
transferred to, the great states of the Mississippi Valley 
and of the Far West. 

Diversities and Uniformities among the States. When 
we consider how dissimilar are the elements that compose 
our population, how great the extent and how varied the 
character and climatic conditions of the territory over 
which that population is spread, and finally, how large a 
measure of political independence is left to the states by 
the federal constitution, we might expect a much wider 

1 Including Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, 
also parts of Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Maryland. 

3 76 



STATE GOVERNMENTS tfj 

diversity of political arrangements between the states 
than actually exists. Diversities there are. to be sure, but 
they are in matters of detail. In general outline the gov- 
ernments of these forty-eight great commonwealths are 
surprisingly alike. This similarity must be attributed in 
part to direct copying of portions of the constitutions of 
the older states by the newer ones ; in part to the constant 
movement of population, which tends to prevent the growth 
of local peculiarities ; in part to the influence of railwa; 
newspapers, and telegraphs, which tends in the same direc- 

d ; in part to the absence among the newer states of 
both natural and historical boundaries and of separate 
traditions. In all the states we shall And written consti- 
tutions, which provide systems oi government alike in all 
ntial particulars. 

Origin of State Constitutions. The state constitutions 
are the direct descendants of the royal charters under 
which the early English settlements in America were made. 
From the beginning the English colonists in America were 
accustomed to the idea of a fundamental law. usually 
written, which created for them a frame of government, 
and which emanated from an authority superior to the 
ordinary- law-making power in the colony. This superior 
authority resided at first in the British crown or in the 
crown and Parliament, but when the colonies became in- 
dependent commonwealths, it passed over, not to the k ■_ 
latures. but to the people of the newly created states In 
the ten colonies that were either proprietary governments 
or royal provinces it was deemed necessary to frame new 
constitutions or to make considerable alterations in the old 
ones, but in the three charter colonies, namely, of Mas 
chus tts Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the colonial 
charters were intended to serve as constitutions, with 



378 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

only such changes as were made necessary by the substitu- 
tion of the authority of the people for that of the crown. 
We have already seen how largely the federal Constitution 
was influenced by the preexisting state constitutions. As 
might be expected, it has in its turn influenced the con- 
stitutions of states admitted to the Union since its adoption ; 
but still more have they been influenced by the constitu- 
tions of the older states from which the settlers of the 
newer states have come. The original constitutions of 
the first thirteen states, as well as the constitutions of 
the newer states, have been not only frequently amended 
but even entirely remodeled, so that the constitutions 
now in force in the several states date from all periods 
of our history. 

Methods of Constitution-Making. At first state consti- 
tutions were formed either by the Legislatures or, more 
commonly, by special constitutional conventions. These 
conventions were rarely required to submit their work to 
the people for approval ; they were empowered not only to 
draft but also to adopt the constitution. Up to 1810 only 
three out of the twenty-five constitutions adopted had been 
submitted to the voters for ratification. Gradually these 
methods have changed in nearly all the states, and con- 
stitutions are now framed by specially elected conventions, 
whose work is then submitted to the voters for ratification 
or rejection (a referendum). 

The Present Process. In detail the present process of 
forming a state constitution is practically as follows : A 
resolution is passed, in some states by a two-thirds vote, 
in others by a majority vote of the members of the state 
legislature, calling for a constitutional convention. If, at 
the next election, the voters signify a desire for revision 
of the constitution, another resolution of the legislature 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 379 

prescribes the number of members for the convention, the 
election districts, and the mode of election. When the 
convention has met and finished its work, the new draft 
is submitted to the people for ratification, though only 
one third of the states require such popular sanction. 
Usually it is accepted or rejected as a whole, though extra 
clauses on certain subjects are occasionally voted upon 
separately. In some states constitutional revision is re- 
quired at stated intervals. 

Constitutional Amendments. If, instead of general re- 
vision, certain specific amendments to the constitution are 
desired, such amendments are first proposed by the state 
legislature. In a few of the states the proposal for amend- 
ment may be passed by a mere majority of the members of 
the Legislature ; others require a three-fifths vote ; others, a 
two-thirds vote ; while still others require that the proposal 
be passed by two successive legislatures by votes varying 
in different states from a majority to three fourths of the 
members elected. After the proposed amendments have 
been passed by the requisite majorities, they are submitted 
to the people for ratification, and in this popular vote like- 
wise special majorities are required by the different states. 
While the process of amendment may seem at first sight 
somewhat difficult, it has not been found so in practice. 
Constitutional changes in the states have been made fre- 
quently — too frequently, some critics believe. The fa< t 
that the more recent constitutions require the consent of 
only one legislature, rather than of two successive ones, to a 
proposed change, would seem to indicate a tendency to 
make the process a shorter and thus an easier one. When 
we come to ( on-ider the content- of State constitutioi 
we shall see thai they deal in the most detailed manner 
with a great variety of matters, many of which are of such 



380 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

a character that laws concerning them must be subject 
to somewhat frequent alteration; hence constitutional 
revision is probably no more frequent than is necessary. 

Contents of State Constitutions: Historical Changes. 
The earlier state constitutions were brief, usually contain- 
ing little more than a Bill of Rights and a frame of govern- 
ment. As might be expected in the case of governments 
formed under revolutionary influences, the new govern- 
ments consisted of a strong legislature, a comparatively 
weak executive, and a carefully organized and independent 
judiciary. As revolutionary influences died away there 
followed a second period in the history of constitution- 
making, Lasting from about 1800 to t lie Civil War. In the 
constitutions of this period the political tendency of the 
time toward democracy is clearly manifest. Over a large 
part of the country it becomes an established principle 
that constitutions shall be enacted by popular vote. The 
suffrage is widely extended until it becomes practically 
manhood suffrage, except in the case of the negro. The 
legislature is beginning to be regarded as a bod}' of agents to 
whom are intrusted no very large discretionary powers, and 
who must apply to the people for any extension of their 
powers. Very significant is the increasing length of the 
constitutions of this period, due to the incorporation of a 
mass of provisions differing from ordinary statutes only in 
having been enacted directly by the people instead of by 
the legislatures. The constitutions enacted since the Civil 
War have shown a slight reaction against the democratic 
tendencies of the earlier period. There has been a dis- 
position to strengthen the executive and judicial depart- 
ments of the government, and to curtail the power of the 
legislature both by laying restrictions upon it and by 
resorting frequently to direct legislation by the people. 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 381 

Existing State Constitutions usually contain a definition 
of the boundaries of the state, a Bill of Rights, and pro- 
visions for the establishment of the three departments of 
government, with their officers and functions, together with 
regulations concerning the suffrage. In addition to these 
more essentially constitutional provisions there occur a 
great number of miscellaneous provisions dealing with 
matters which properly belong to the domain of ordinary 
law, such as articles concerning taxation, education, local 
government, corporations, public lands, the administra- 
tion of the state debt, the management of public institu- 
tions, the sale of intoxicants, and many others. These 
later constitutions, moreover, not only cover this great 
variety of subjects, but deal both with these and with 
the properly constitutional provisions in much greater 
detail than was attempted in the earlier ones. Doubtless 
the principal motive in thus crowding into the constitu- 
tions much that might better take the form of laws on 
the statute books is popular distrust of the legislatures 
and consequent desire to legislate directly upon certain 
important subjects. 

The State Governments. In every state the government 
is divided into the three departments — legislative, execu- 
tive, and judicial. The state legislatures are all bicameral 
Lt is, they consist of two chambers), the smaller house 
being termed in all states the senate, while the larger is 
usually called the house of representatives, though in 
six states it is known as the assembly, in three as the 
house of delegates. The state executive department con- 

ts of the governor and a number of other officials. The 
state judiciary consists of at least one state court, with a 
number of minor court.-. 1 

1 See p. 392. 



382 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OE NEW YORK 

Suffrage and Elections. Although in most states the 
suffrage approaches very nearly to universal manhood suf- 
frage, still the qualifications are by no means uniform. M 
of the states demand that the voter be of the male s 
twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the state for 
a definite time, and that he be neither a criminal nor a 
pauper. Beyond this the qualifications vary widely. In 
Arizona (1912), California (1911), Colorado (1893), Idaho 
(1896), Indiana (1917), Kansas (1912), Montana (1914), 

Nevada (1914), New York (1917), North Dakota (1917), 
Ohio (1917), Oregon (1912), Utah (1896), Washington 

(1910), and Wyoming (1869) women vote on equal terms 

with men, and in Illinois (i<n 3) SO tar as not prevented 
by the state constitution. In a majority of states the voter 
must be a citizen; in others, a declaration of intention to 

become a citizen is sufficient. Mississippi, Massachusel 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Delaware impose an edu- 
cational lest, requiring ability to read or to read and write. 
In Idaho the suffrage is denied to polygamists. Some 
require that the voter register his name and certain other 
facts before he can vote. The reason tor the age require- 
ment is obvious. The residence qualification, if carried to 
the length it is in New York State, tends not only to prevent 
repeating (voting more than once) at the ballot box but to 
secure from the voter some familiarity with local conditions 
before he casts his vote for a local officer. Citizenship 
presupposes a certain interest in the affairs of a state 
which, perhaps, may not exist in the alien voter. In the 
more thickly settled districts, particularly in cities, r< 
tration has been a helpful means of combating the evil of 
repeating. 

Method of Choosing Candidates. The men to be v 
for at the various local, state, and national elections for 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 383 

the numerous offices have to be selected in some manner 
by each political party, a separate set for each party. 
This is usually done by what is known as the convention 
plan or by means oi the primary election. For this 
purpose the state is divided into election districts, usually 
the smallest political division of the state. The state is 
also divided into counties, legislative, judicial, and con- 
gressional districts, and the state itself likewise comprises 
an election district. In each district and state each 
political party has its committee, whose duty it is to call 
a meeting of the voters, or delegates, of the party for 
the purpose of placing in nomination candidates for the 
various offices of the district concerned, to announce the 
issues upon which it goes before the people and to ask 
for their support, and to transact such other business as 
ma}- devolve upon the meeting. If the convention plan 
is followed, the committee of the election district calls a 
caucus or primary of the voters of the election district 
belonging to its political party, and proceeds to nominate 
candidates for local offices and delegates to the county 
convention or to whatever convention is next in order. 
This convention of delegates proceeds to select candidates 
for the offices of the county or other district, delegates to 
some higher convention, and so on until a complete set of 
candidates for all offices — local, state, and national — is 
chosen by each political party. The candidates thus 
• ted constitute the party ticket, which goes before the 
people at the regular election in November or later. 

If the primary-election plan is followed, a candidate 
for office must secure the signatures of a certain per 
tage of the voters of his political party, ffis name, 
with other- for the same office from the same party 

there are other candidate- >. is then placed upon the 



384 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

primary ballot. In this manner the ticket for the primarv 
election is made up. At the date set for the primary 
election the voters meet at the places designated and 
from the different candidates proposed vote for the candi- 
dates of their choice. Those who receive the highest vote 
at the primary election become the candidates of their re- 
spective parties at the general election. In this manner the 
party ticket is made up. The convention plan places the 
responsibility of selecting candidates upon the party leaders, 
while the primary-election plan places it upon the individual 
voter. 

Under the convention plan it was difficult for any per- 
son to become a candidate who was not in favor with the 
party leaders, while under the primary-election plan any 
aspirant who can secure the proper number of >ignatures 
to his nominating petition can have his name placed upon 
the primary ballot, and upon the party ticket should he be 
successful in the primary election. 

Voting. Voting is usually done on a single day, between 
sunrise and sunset. For the election of United States 
officers a uniform day has been fixed by law — the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Polling 
places are provided, in charge of officers prescribed by state 
law. The voting is by ballot or by voting machines. 
Most of the states have adopted the Australian system 
of balloting, or some modification of it, in order to secure 
secrecy. By this system the voter, having been given an 
official ballot printed by the state and containing in parallel 
columns the names of all the candidates to be voted for at 
that election, with the party emblem, a circle, and the 
name of the party at the top of each column, enters a 
closed booth or room, alone. If he wishes to vote for all 
the candidates of his party (that is, a " straight ticket "), 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 5S5 

he places a mark in the circle at the top of the column con- 
taining their names. If. on the other hand, he wishes to 
vote for one or more candidates from other parties (that 
is. a " split ticket "), he places a cross opposite the name 
of each candidate for whom he wishes to vote. He then 
hands the ballot to the proper officer for deposit in the 
ballot box. If the officer in charge of an election, or even 
a bystander, thinks that the voter does not p ss 5S the 
necessary qualifications, he may question his right to vote. 
This is called challenging. The person challenged must 
then " swear in his tote/ 1 that is, take an oath that 
he is entitled to vote at that election. In Xew York 
illegal voting is punishable by a period of imprisonment 
from three months to a year in length, and for certain 
offenses of this nature an additional penalty is provided 
depriving the convicted person of the right of suffrage 
for a period of five years after conviction. In Xew York 
also and in Florida betting on elections is forbidden by law. 
Election. After the election the voting places are closed, 
and the election officers count, or canvass, the votes. If 
the number of ballots does not agree with the list made 
of the voters, then it is the custom to draw out of the box 
the number in excess. Sometimes, especially when voting 
for the officers of the larger divisions of the state, as the 
county, congressional district, or state, the votes are can- 
ned by two or three sets of officers. In most of the 
states a plurality only is necessary for an election. By 
" plurality " is meant the excess of the number < >f vol 
for the leading candidate over those cast for each of his 
competitors in cases where there arc more than two candi- 
dates and no one receive- a majority of the votes. Thus, 
if A gets 450, B 300, and C 250 votes, out of a total vote 
of 1000, A is said to have a plurality over his competitors. 



386 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

In several of the New England states a majority (at least 
one over half of the total number of votes cast) is neces- 
sary to elect. It very often happens that a person is elected 
on a plurality vote who is really the choice of but a small 
part of the voters ; on the other hand, under the New 
England system it may be necessary to resort to a new 
election, no candidate having the necessary number of 
votes for a choice. 

The Legislature : Organization. The members of both 
houses of the slate legislature are chosen by popular V0 
usually from districts equal in number to the members of 
the respective houses. The ba>i> of representation, there- 
fore, does not differ in the two houses, except that the 
senators are elected from larger districts. Otherwise the 
houses differ merely in the number of members, the length 
of term, and their special duties. The state senates now 
consist, on the average, of about thirty members. Nevada 
has the smallest senate, numbering twenty-two memb< 
Minnesota the largest — sixty-seven. In most of the 
states the term of the senator is longer than that of the 
representative, ranging from two years to four. In most 
of the states also the senate is only partially renewed at 
each election, so that this body possesses a continuity 
which the other house lacks. Some of the states also fix a 
higher age qualification for the senator, and until 1897 
Delaware imposed a property qualification. 

The Lower Houses are in general about three times as 
large as the senates, but the size of the houses varies greatly 
from state to state. In the West and South the houses are 
generally smaller than in the other states, particularly in 
New England, where the stronger local sentiment demands 
representation for smaller districts. The length of term 
varies from one year to four, most of the states electing 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 387 

for two. Except for a lower age qualification and a shorter 
period of residence for representatives, the qualifications 
for members of the two houses are essentially the same. 
The requirement that both senators and representatives 
shall be residents of the districts from which they are 
elected is made in some states by the constitution, and 
everywhere by custom. 

Sessions. In most of the states the sessions of the legis- 
lature are biennial. 1 Only six states (Massachusetts, New 
York. New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and 
Georgia) now hold annual sessions; among them, natu- 
rally, are those which hold annual elections for members of 
the legislature. In most states also the length of the session 
is limited, usually to sixty days, but in three states (South 
Carolina, Wyoming, and Oregon) to forty. The governor 
may, however, convene the legislature in extra session 
either on his own initiative or at the request of a certain 
proportion of the members. 

Procedure. In organization and procedure the state 
legislature is very similar to the national. The lieutenant 
governor, wherever provision is made for such an officer, is 
usually the presiding officer of the senate. The speaker, as 
the presiding officer of the house is called, is chosen by the 
number-. In most of the states a majority of the mem- 
bers of each house constitutes a quorum. As in the na- 
tional legislature, there are regulations securing to the 
members freedom of speech in the house and exemption 
from arre>t during the session, providing '"or the expulsion 
of members by a two-thirds vote, for adjournment, for the 
keeping of journal-, the judging of election- of member-, 
the reading of bill-, etc. The committee system i> in use 

1 In some of the Southern states the legislature regularly meets but 

once in four years. Alabama i- an example of this Custom. 



388 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

in all the states, and in most of them measures must be 
approved by at least one half of all the members of both 
houses before they are submitted to the governor. 

Restrictions on Powers of Legislatures. We have al- 
ready seen (pp. 349-350) that under the federal constitu- 
tion the states possess all those powers not delegated to 
the United States by the constitution or prohibited by it 
to the states. The powers of the states are not, like those 
of the national government, delegated powers, nor do any 
of the state constitutions expressly delegate powers to their 
legislatures. Except where specific limitations have been 
imposed upon it, the state legislature has power to deal 
with any subject coming before it. The people of the 
states have, however, shown a growing jealousy of the 
powers of their legislatures by placing upon them various 
important limitations and prohibitions. Upon certain sub- 
jects, varying from state to state, the legislatures are for- 
bidden to pass any measures at all. Mr. Bryce classifies 
these forbidden measures as follows: (1) statutes incon- 
sistent with democratic principles, such as granting titles of 
nobility or creating a property qualification for suffrage 
or office ; (2) statutes against public policy, such as 
tolerating lotteries, impairing the obligation of contracts; 
(3) statutes special or local in their application ; (4) statutes 
increasing the state debt beyond a certain limited amount 
or permitting a local community to increase its debt beyond 
a prescribed amount. In addition to these prohibitions 
upon legislation, the constitutions impose also a number of 
restrictions as to the treatment of bills, the majorities 
necessary to pass certain bills, the method of voting, the 
reading of bills and the intervals between readings, as well 
as regulations against changing the purpose of a bill 
during its passage, and requiring that only one subject be 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 389 

included in a bill and that that subject be expressed in 
the title. 

Special Powers of the Houses. In most of the states 
each house possesses special powers. The power of im- 
peachment belongs to the lower house, but the senate acts 
as a court for the trial of impeachment cases. A two-thirds 
vote is usually required for conviction. The senate also 
possesses the power of confirming appointments made by 
the governor. On the other hand, the power of originating 
money bills resides, in a majority of the states, with the 
lower house. In Vermont the power of proposing amend- 
ments to the constitution is given to the senate alone, in 
Connecticut to the house. 

The Executive : Its Character. The organization of the 
executive power of the states differs very materially from 
that of the federal government. We have seen that the 
president is the real executive head of the nation. In him 
the chief executive authority is vested, and to him are re- 
sponsible the officials who administer the federal law. He 
appoints them and he may at any time remove them for 
cause. In other words, the executive authority of the 
nation is centralized. In the states, on the other hand, 
it is very much decentralized. The relations existing be- 
tween the governor and the other principal administrative 
officers of the state are very different from those existing 
between the president and his cabinet. These state officials 
usually are not the governor's appointees. They are gen- 
erally elected either directly by the people or by the Legis- 
latures and are in no wise responsible to the governor. 
K en where, as happens in a few of the states, some of 
these officials are appointed by the governor with the 

confirmation of the senate, they are >till not dependent 
upon him. Their duties are prescribed either by the 



390 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

constitutions of their states or by statute, and they are 
removable only for just legal cause. They are not the 
governor's subordinates or agents ; they are his coHeagu< 5. 
Moreover, it cannot even be said that the governor and 
the other central administrative officials together make 
up the whole of the state executive. The power is still 
further shared by a Large number of local officials, — county, 
town, and municipal officers, who, though they execute 
state law, are so little responsible to the central executive 
authority that, they are not usually regarded as state offi« 
at all, but only as officers of their districts. Wither the 
governor nor any one of his colleagues, with the possible 
exception of the superintendent of education, exen : 
any real control over the local authorities by whom the 
laws are actually administered. 

The Governor. In spite of this diffusion of executive 
power, however, the position of the state governor 
by no means insignificant. If he is only a kk piece M of the 
executive, as he has been called, still he is a very important 
piece. Though he has no real control of the other execu- 
tive officers and administrative boards, still he has general 
oversight of them. He has some power of appointment, 
though not very extensive. As commander-in-chief of the 
state militia it is his duty to see that order is preserved 
within the state and to repel invasion in case such occurs. 
The governor also has the power, under certain restrictions, 
to grant reprieves and pardons to persons convicted of 
crime. His most important duties, however, are those 
which have to do with the legislature, and which give him 
some control over legislation. At the beginning of each 
session he sends a message to the legislature for the purpose 
of informing the lawmakers of the condition of the com- 
monwealth and of recommending such measures as he 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 391 

deems necessary. In ease the houses fail to agree on the 
time of adjournment, he may adjourn them. In most 
states, also, he may call special sessions, either with or 
without the request of a portion of the legislature. Most 
important of all, however, is his power of vetoing measures 
that he does not approve — a power given him in every 
state except two (Rhode Island and North Carolina). Bills 
may, of course, be passed over the governor's veto by 
majorities varying widely in the several states. In many 
of the states the governor may veto particular items in 
appropriation bills ; other bills must be approved or dis- 
approved entire. 

The Governor's Colleagues. In addition to the governor, 
all the states have a number of other central executive 
officers, though not all the states have exactly the same 
ones. Many of them have lieutenant governors who suc- 
ceed to the governorship in case the governor is for any 
reason incapacitated. All of them have secretaries of 
state and all have treasurers. Nearly all have attorneys- 
general. Most of them have superintendents of educa- 
tion, though some have boards of education instead. Some 
have auditors ; in others the same duties are performed by 
comptrollers. In three of the states (Maine, New Hamp- 
shire, and Massachusetts) there exist governor's councils. 
The secretaries of state keep and affix the seal of the com- 
monwealth and keep all state records. The treasurers 
have charge of the public funds, which the 1 }' pay out only 
on warrants issued by the auditors or comptrollers. The 
auditors or comptrollers have general supervision of state 
finances. Like the national Secretary of the Treasury, 
they present to the Legislatures estimates of the amount of 
money needed for state purposes, though the state legis- 
latures in general feel themselves even less bound than 



392 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

does Congress by such recommendations. The attorneys- 
general are the legal advisers of the states and conduct 
all state cases before the courts. The superintendent of 
education oversees the educational system of the state, 
often apportioning the school moneys and deciding dis- 
putes involving school authorities. In addition to these 
central executive officers there are in many of the states 
various departments in charge of superintendents or 
boards, such as departments of health, of labor, of agricul- 
ture, of charities and correction. In most cases these 
departments have not yet been given sufficient power to 
render their control effective, and a large part of the duties 
which naturally belong to them are still under loeal control. 

Election, Terms, and Qualifications of Executive Officers. 
Not only the governor but the other central executive of- 
ficers as well are chosen by direct popular vote over the 
whole state. The terms vary in the different states. In 
general the terms of the other principal officers are the 
same as that of the governor and lieutenant governor. 
In most of the states the term is either two or four years; 
occasionally, however, one or three. Most of the 
prescribe certain minimum qualifications, covering a 
residence, and citizenship, which always apply to the 
governor and lieutenant governor and generally to the 
other important officers. All these officials are removable 
by impeachment. 

The Judiciary. Justice in the states is administered 
through a system of courts which exist quite independently 
of federal law. The two systems of courts, federal and 
state, are entirely separate, so that for cases falling within 
their jurisdiction the decision of the state courts is final. 
Only in cases involving federal law or in cases in which the 
nature of the parties to the suit is such that no state court 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 393 

has complete jurisdiction (for example, suits between citizens 
of different states 1 does an appeal lie to the federal courts. 

The System of Courts. The judicial systems of the differ- 
ent states vary so considerably that only the most general 
description is applicable to all of them. Usually there are 
four grades of state courts. The lowest are those presided 
over by justices of the peace and having jurisdiction over 
petty civil and criminal cases. Their deci>ions are almost 
always subject to appeal to higher courts. Next above 
them stand the county or municipal courts, which hear 
appeals from them and have original jurisdiction in civil 
cases where the amount involved is large, and in criminal 
cases of the graver character. Next come the superior 
courts, called also circuit or district courts, which hear 
appeals from the lower courts and have original jurisdiction 
of the most general character in both civil and criminal 
cases. The highest court in the state is usually the supreme 
court. In most of the states its jurisdiction is only appel- 
late, though in a few of the older states it has original 
jurisdiction as well. In five of the states (New York, 
New Jersey, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Illinois) there are 
court- higher than the supreme court, called courts of 
appeal. 

Special Courts. In addition to these, some of the states 
provide special courts for the trial of cases in equity (cases 
arising out of grievances for which the common law fur- 
nishes no remedy). Usually, howe\er, instead of provid- 
ing -special courts, the states have given jurisdiction over 
such cases to one or more of the regular courts. Much 
more general is the special probate court, whose business 
it is to see to the disposition of the property of deceased 
persons. In many >tates. however, this function is also 
performed by the ordinary court-. 



394 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Judges. The judges of most of the state courts, both 
higher and lower, are elected, those of the supreme court 
usually by the people of the state at large ; those of circuit, 
county, municipal, and other courts, by the electors of the 
area in which they serve. In some states, however, the 
higher judges are chosen by the legislature ; in a few others 
they are appointed by the governor, with the advice and 
consent of the senate, and in three of the New England 
states they are appointed by the governor and council. 

The Term of Office varies from two years to tenure dur- 
ing good behavior. In general the higher judges hold 
office for longer terms than do the lower ones. Justices 
of the peace are usually elected for two or four years, cir- 
cuit judges for four or six years, supreme judges for eight 
or ten. Most of the >tutes impose an age and residence 
qualification upon candidates for judgeships, and some 
require tests of legal fitness also. 

State Finances. The state government, like the national 
government, cannot exist without money. The power to 
tax the people of the state is therefore vested in every 
state legislature. " Although the budget of the state 
not large in proportion to the wealth of its inhabitant 
a considerable revenue is required, not only to pay the 
officers and the militia but to sustain the various enter- 
prises in which the state is interested, such as asylums and 
institutions for the unfortunate, schools, canals, and the 
like. If the state is in debt, some of this revenue goes 
toward paying the principal and interest. 

Taxes. State taxes usually take the form of direct taxes 
on real estate and personal property, or in some cases on 
collateral inheritances. A few states impose a poll tax, 
which is often a prerequisite for voting. Almost every 
state in addition imposes certain indirect taxes. Such are 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 395 

the taxes on particular trades or occupations, which some- 
times take the form of license taxes ; or the taxes on fran- 
chises, that is, the right to operate railroads, etc. ; or, 
again, taxes on railroad stock. 

Exemptions. Certain properties are exempt from taxa- 
tion. Among these are public buildings, since they are 
used for public purposes, and it is for such purposes that 
taxation is levied ; institutions or societies for the improve- 
ment of the people, such as schools, churches, charitable 
institutions, and agricultural societies ; the necessary im- 
plements of the farmer or mechanic ; and United States 
securities. In some states, possibly with the idea of en- 
couraging thrift and industry, the law exempts deposits in 
savings banks from taxation. 

Assessment. The first step toward raising revenue by 
direct taxation is assessment. Certain local officers, known 
as appraisers or assessors, chosen by the local governments 
but acting under state laws, ascertain the value of the real 
estate and personal property of the various localities. As 
the contribution of the communities is based on this valua- 
tion, it is to their interest to put it as low as possible, and 
thus to avoid their share of the state burdens. To correct 
abuses of this sort, many states have a state board of equal- 
ization, whose duty it is to see that the taxable property of 
the localities is equally and fairly valued. Their work is 
sometimes supplemented by similar county boards. Many 
states have also taken the assessment of certain sorts of 
widely diffused property (such as railways, telegraph and 
telephone lines) out of the hands of the local assessors, and 
have established boards of state assessors to deal with them. 

Apportionment and Collection. When the state has de- 
termined the amount to be raised, it is apportioned through- 
out the state according to the amount of taxable property as 



396 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

determined by the returns received from the assessors. The 
amount to be raised is divided by the amount of taxable 
property, and the per cent obtained constitutes the state 
tax rate. With the valuation of the county property be- 
fore them, it is easy for the count}' officials to ascertain in a 
similar manner the county rate, and the town officers the 
town rate. State, county, and town taxes are usually 
paid in one sum. When the collector receives the taxes, 
the town officers retain the part raised for town purposes 
and send the remainder to the proper count}' officers, who 
similarly retain the county taxes and remit the rest to the 
state authorities. Indirect taxes are usually paid directly 
to state officials. 

Restrictions upon Taxing Power. Various restrictions 
have been imposed upon the >tate> by their constitutions 
in this matter of raising and spending money. kk Taught 
by sad experience of reckless legislatures," the people 
limit the amount that ma}' be raised annually by taxation. 
Sometimes this limitation takes the form of a require- 
ment that the sum raised shall be no more than sufficient 
to meet current needs. In their fear of state indebted- 
ness they have limited the amount that ma}' be borrowed, 
sometimes to an absolute sum, sometimes to a certain 
percentage of the assessed valuation of the taxable prop- 
erty. They have besides forbidden the state to contract 
debts without immediately providing a sinking fund to 
discharge the obligation. Similar restrictions also exist 
to prevent indiscriminate borrowing on the part of the 
local governments under state jurisdiction. 

Education. One of the most important functions in- 
trusted to the state governments is the maintenance and 
control of the public-school system. In this work of edu- 
cating the masses — a work so important under a republican 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 397 

form of government — the national government, by exten- 
sive land grants, has aided the states most liberally; but it 
has left the control of the public schools, both elementary 
and higher, to the states. 

The School System. The earliest public schools were 
organized not by the states but by the localities that de- 
sired them, and they formed no part of any system. Gradu- 
ally, however, as the need for better organization, better 
instruction, and greater uniformity became apparent, the 
states began to regulate public education by law. At first 
there were no state school officials, and the attempt at 
state control was to a great extent ineffective. Now, how- 
ever, the schools are everywhere completely regulated 
by state law. though the law is still administered for the 
most part by local officers. In each state the law deter- 
mines, among other things, what shall be the administrative 
unit for the school system, county, town, or district ; 
prescribes a minimum list of subjects to be taught ; fixes a 
minimum school year ; and lays down the requirements 
which must be met by the teachers of the state. 

Various Grades of Schools are maintained by all the 
states. The common schools (sometimes called district 
schools) and graded schools furnish facilities to everyone 
desiring an elementary education. High school and acade- 
mic- give instruction in the academic branches and prepare 
for college, while a higher education is to be obtained in 
colleges and univer>itie>, main* of which are supported 
wholly or in part by state fund-. Most of the states of the 
West maintain at least one state university in which tuition 
itizens. Many states have also established 
technical and agricultural schools and colleges tor the pur- 
of increasing the industrial efficiency of their (itizens. 
The states also endeavor to secure the best instruction 



398 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

possible by creating normal schools for the training of teach- 
ers and by fixing tests for candidates for positions as teachers. 

State Administration of Schools. In nearly every state 
in the Union the educational system is under the general 
supervision of a state board of education or a state superin- 
tendent, or both. These officials are chosen in various 
ways in the different states, though the boards arc perhaps 
more frequently appointed by the governor or Legislature, 
the superintendents more often elected by the people. It 
is the business of these officials to interpret and enforce 
the school laws; to care for the state school funds; to 
attend to the examination of teacher-, except where that 
duty has been intrusted to count}' boards; and in some 
cases to select the textbooks. It is their duty also to 
study educational methods and to keep themselves gen- 
erally informed in educational matters, with a view to im- 
proving as rapidly as possible the schools of their state. 

Local Administration of Schools. Below these state 
officials there are usually count}' boards of education 
and county commissioners or superintendents. The ex- 
amination of teachers is usually conducted by these boards 
under state law. The county commissioners or superin- 
tendents are charged with the duty of visiting and inspect- 
ing the schools and distributing the school funds anions 
them. In the rural sections school law is administered by 
officers, usually called trustees, chosen for a term of three 
years by the people of either the school district or the town- 
ship. Cities have, under state laws of course, their own 
separate school systems, administered by their own boards 
of education and city superintendents. 

Compulsory Education. Many states regard an elemen- 
tary education as a matter so important and so closely 
connected with the stability of republican institutions that 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 399 

they have enacted laws compelling the attendance of all 

children between certain ages for a certain length of time 
each year. 

Importance of State Government. As indicated above, 
the federal government left to the states all those powers 
not delegated by them to the nation nor forbidden by the 
Constitution to the states. How vital, then, are the issues 
at stake in our state elections! President Garfield said: 
" The state government touches the citizen and his interests 
twenty times where the national government touches him 
once. For the peace of our streets and the health of our 
cities ; for the administration of justice in nearly all that 
relates to the security of person and proper ty and the 
punishment of crime ; for the education of our children and 
the care of unfortunate and dependent citizens ; for the 
collection and assessment of much the larger portion of 
our direct taxes, and for the proper expenditure of the 
same — for all this, and much more, we depend upon the 
honesty and wisdom of our general assembly (of Ohio) 
and not upon the Congress at Washington/' When it is 
remembered further that all the important reforms that 
have agitated the people of England during the last cen- 
tury, with the possible exception of the corn laws and the 
abolition of slavery, would have been proper objects for 
our state rather than our national government, the relative 
importance of good management in state affairs becomes 
apparent. 

Initiative and Referendum. As a cluck upon state legis- 
latures, resort is had to the initiative and referendum. By 
u initiative" is meant the right of the people to propose a law 
to the legislature, and by " referendum M i- meant thai before 

an act passed by the legislature becomes a law. it -hall first 

be submitted to the people and decided by popular vote. 



400 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Amendments to the state constitution, and public improve- 
ments involving large expenditure of public funds, have 
generally been submitted to popular vote. The principle 
of the referendum has, in various ways, been recognized 
from the early beginnings of government in this country. 
The principle is further recognized in referring such ques- 
tions as local option, municipal ownership, the incorpora- 
tion of villages and cities, and similar questions to the 
people to decide at the polls. South Dakota, Oregon, and 
Oklahoma provide in their slate constitutions or by statute 
for a system of direct Legislation by this means. The 
tendency of modern times is in the direction of the initiative 
and the referendum, and toward direct-primary nominations 
for all public offices. A majority of the states now have 
primary-election laws. 

Library References. Mary, chaps, viii-xi, xiii ; Maey, First 
Lessons, chaps, iii -xv, xxiv, x.wiii ; Dawes, chaps, xiii-xiv; Fiske, 
pp. 173-188; Hinsdale, chaps, iliv-liv; Bryce, Vol. I, chaps, xxxvi- 
xlv; Wilson, §§ 885 994; Dole, chaps, xv-xvii, xix ; Lalor, Article 
on Constitutional and Legal Diversities in States; Woodburn, chap. vii. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. In some states women, aliens, infamous criminals, idiots, 
minors, and lunatics are excluded from voting. Give reasons for 
or against the exclusion in each case. 

2. Should paupers be allowed to vote ? Give reasons. 

3. Give a reason for the law requiring registration of voters. 

4. Give one reason why a legislature should consist of two 
bodies. 

5. Give arguments for or against biennial sessions of the 
.state legislature. 

6. What is the capital of a state and why so called ? 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 401 

7. Describe the process oi assessing property for the purpose 
of taxation, and show how the amount of money to be raised by 
each town is fixed. 

8. Mention three kinds of property that are usually exempt 
from taxation, giving reasons. Why has the state the right to 
impose taxes? 

9. What is meant in general by a compulsory-education 
law? Why is such a law desirable? 

10. May a state levy and collect an income tax? 

11. What government touches the individual most frequently 
— city, state, or national? Why? 

12. Mention the different slate courts. What is a police 
court ? 

13. Under what circumstances may cases be transferred 
from state to federal courts? 

14. If legislation on any subject is desired by citizens of the 
state, how is the attention of the legislature secured? 



CHAPTER XXX 
COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 

Other Governments : their Relation. After we have 
completed our study of the local, state, and national govern- 
ment, there still remains for us to Learn how other nations 
are governed and how we are affected by the relations of 
our government with other governments. This relation is 
regulated by international law. It consists of a body of 
usages, customs, maxims, and institutions of long standing, 
defining the duties and responsibilities of nations in their 
relation under certain conditions, but which no nation is 
bound to observe and yet whose violation would be con- 
sidered as very bad form and might lead to armed inter- 
ference. When international law is violated by individuals 
in the United States, they may be punished by due process 
of municipal law. Treaties (agreements) made between 
nations are binding upon the nations mentioned in the 
treaties. To facilitate communication between nations, re- 
course is had to diplomatic agents (representatives of one 
country residing in another). Matters of dispute may be 
settled by arbitration, embargo, reprisal, and retortion 
before resort to war is had. When war is declared, notice 
of some kind indicating the change in feeling must be made 
in order that the subjects of the two nations involved and 
the subjects of neutrals may know that a state of war 
exists and in order that they may observe the rules of in- 
ternational law in all matters relating to the combatants. 

402 




( i Drlque Muller 

diers in Camp, Receiving Enstruction i\ mi. Use of 
tuk Rifle (above). The Battleship Pennsylvania (below) 



403 



4 o4 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

For a full discussion of international law, sec School Civics, 
Chapter XXII. 

England's Constitution. The government of Great 
Britain is a limited constitutional monarchy ; that is, it 
has a constitution which defines the rights and privileges of 
the people and the crown. This constitution is largely 
unwritten, and what is written is not contained in a 
single document, as is the constitution of the United States. 
The written part is scattered through acts of Parliament 
and solemn agreements extending through the Middle 
Ages to the present time. The unwritten part consists 
of customs, maxims, usages, and institutions of long 
standing, which have come to have the force of written 
law. Thus the British constitution is an evolution which 
changes to meet changing conditions extending over many 
centuries. 

England's Legislature. The legislative department of 
the British government is called Parliament and is com- 
posed of two houses, the House of Commons and the House 
of Lords. The members of the House of Commons are 
chosen by universal suffrage by secret ballot for a term of 
five years. The members of the House of Lords hold 
their seats in four ways : by right of inheritance, by royal 
appointment, by right of ecclesiastical office, and by elec- 
tion. The parliament act of 191 1, by limiting the legislative 
powers of the House of Lords, greatly increased those of the 
House of Commons. The English constitution places no 
legal limitations upon the power of Parliament. Parliament 
is therefore England, so far as its legal powers are concerned 
(see p. 196). A quorum (for Congress, see p. 222) neces- 
sary to do business is fixed at forty of the 670 members of 
the House of Commons and three of the 642 members 
of the House of Lords. 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 405 

England's Executive. The executive power is, nominally 
at least, the crown. Besides executing the fundamental 
laws as expressed in the constitution, the laws passed by 
Parliament, and the decision of the courts, the crown may 
do anything which it is not forbidden by Parliament. 
Briefly summarized, the executive powers of the crown in- 
clude the declaration of war, the negotiation of treaties, the 
appointment and reception of diplomatic officers, and the 
issuing of passports. The command of the army and navy, 
the promulgation of rules for the government and dispo- 
sition of the forces, the appointment of all civil and military 
officers and their removal, the appointment of the clerical 
officers of the Church of England, and the granting of par- 
dons are in theory intrusted to the crown. The legislative 
powers of the crown may be summarized as the authority 
to summon, open, or prorogue (that is, dismiss) Parlia- 
ment upon the advice of the prime minister. Dissolution 
puts an end to the House of Commons, but it does not 
affect the House of Lords except to terminate the sitting 
of the Scottish peers, who are elected for the term of Par- 
liament. To these legislative duties may be added the 
legal right of the crown to veto the measures of Parliament 
— a right, however, which has not been exercised since 
1707. and the adoption of the cabinet system makes 
further resort to it by the crown unnecessary. 

English Cabinet. The actual administration of the 
British government is through the agency of the cabinet 
selected from the members of Parliament of the political 
party which has a majority in the House of Commons. When 
a cabinet is to be formed, the crown sends for the acknowl- 
edger] leader of the majority party in the House of Com- 
mons, asks him to accept the premiership, and intrusts him 
with the -election of his colleagues. The prime minister 



406 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

selects his associates and recommends them to the crown, 
who appoints and commissions them. Those selected may 
be members of either house, but those who are member- oi 
the House of Commons must resign their seats and secure 
the approval of their constituents by reelection. Thus the 
people of their districts are consulted in the formation of 
the cabinet. The members of the cabinet have scats in Par- 
liament and take active part in all legislative matter- ; they 
initiate public legislation and assume leadership in debate. 
If they are defeated on any important government measure, 
or if the House votes lack of confidence in their leadership, 
the}- may resign, and another ministry must then be formed 
by the new majority thus indicated. If, however, the de- 
feated cabinet think they still represent the will oi the 
people, the}' can ask the crown to dissolve the Housi 
Commons and order a new election, thus bringing the ques- 
tion squarely before the individual voter, whose chosen 
representatives take their seats immediately instead o 
year from the next December after election, as in the 
case of Congress (see p. 221 1. Ii the result. o\ the election 
is against the cabinet, the}' must resign. In addition to 
their legislative duties, the ministers act as heads of the 
various administrative departments. 

England's Judicial System. The judicial system of Eng- 
land consists of (a) the House of Lords, which aets both as 
a criminal court for the trial of peers and as a general court 
of impeachment, and is the highest court of the kingdom ; 
(b) the judicial committee of the privy council, which is a 
court of last resort for India, the colonies, the Isle of Man, 
the Channel Isles, and the vice-admiralty courts abroad, 
its personnel being substantially the same as that of the 
House when sitting as highest court of appeals ; (c) the 
general courts of the kingdom, which are the High Court of 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 407 

Justice and the Court of Appeals. The former consists 
of three sections, known as the chancer}- division of six 
judges, the king's bench division of fifteen judges, and the 
probate, divorce, and admiralty division of two judges. 
The principal criminal courts are the petty session and 
quarter sessions, assize courts, and the central criminal 
court. England's local government is one of great and 
varied complexity, incapable of brief explanation. 

Germany. Germany is a constitutional monarchy with a 
written constitution which gives in detail the powers and 
relations of the different departments of government. It 
may be amended by the imperial legislature according 
to the usual processes of legislation. Provisions which 
guarantee specific rights of individual states cannot be 
changed by amendment. The constitution provides for a 
national parliament or imperial legislature of two houses, 
namely, the national diet (or Reichstag) of 397 members, 
representing the entire empire, and the national council 
(or Bundesrat) of 61 members, representing the individual 
states. The German Empire is not a union of equal 
states. Members of the Reichstag are chosen by secret 
ballot by universal male suffrage for a term of five years 
on the basis of population. Members of the national coun- 
cil are apportioned among the states by the constitution. 
They have the character of ambassadors and are entitled to 
the same privileges accorded diplomatic representatives of 
foreign states. Prussia has nineteen votes in the national 
council and three fifths of the membership of the Reichs- 
tag. She therefore controls all questions of amendment to 
the constitution, the chairmanship of all committees (ex- 
cept one) in the national council, enjoys the constitutional 
right to the deciding vote in case of tie, and a clear ma- 
jority in the Reichstag. The hereditary king of Prussia is 



4 o8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

emperor by right of succession, which right is set forth in 
Article IV of the constitution. The powers of the national 
legislature are enumerated in the constitution, and relate 
to the ratification of treaties, the regulation of foreign and 
interstate commerce, the money system, criminal law, 
private law, and judicial organization and procedure 
throughout the empire. The regulation of citizenship, 
medical and veterinary practice, customs and excise, and 
the military and naval system ; enactment of measures 
for the execution of the laws, settlements of constitutional 
conflicts within the state; and the regulation of many 
other details, which in other states having a federal - 
tern of government are left to the regulation of the in- 
dividual states, are functions of the general government 
However, in the domain of interstate and foreign relations 
the individual states of the empire may conclude treaties 
among themselves for the regulation of their postal and 
telegraph system, and even with foreign countries in matters 
of local concern, and to that end may send and receive am- 
bassadors. The'}' may also exercise authority in matters 
not regulated by imperial laws. 

Germany's Executive. The executive power in Germany 
is vested in the emperor. To him is given the power to 
appoint and receive ambassadors and other public ministers 
and consuls, negotiate treaties, and wage war. He i- com- 
mander in chief of the army and navy, and is responsible for 
the publication and execution of the laws. In the supervision 
and execution of the laws he addresses himself through the 
chancellor to the state executives. All official acts of the em- 
peror, except those relating to the command of the army, are 
countersigned by the imperial chancellor, who is appointed 
by the emperor. The indorsement of the chancellor relieve- 
the emperor of all responsibility for acts which he himself 



COMPARISON" OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 409 

recommends. The chancellor's responsibility, however, is 

not to the legislature but to the emperor. If, therefore, the 
Reichstag refuses to pass his measures or votes a resolution 
of censure against him. he does not resign but continues to 
hold his office ; and if he thinks the action of the Reichstag 
is not the will oi the people, he may request the emperor 
to dissolve it, thus bringing the question at issue squarely 
before the individual voter, as in the case of the English 
ministry and Parliament. Thus the emperor, through his 
chancellor, may keep in touch with the popular will. 

Germany's Judicial System. Xo provision is made by 
the constitution for a judicial system other than that con- 
ferred on the federal council designated as a court for the 
settlement of publicdaw controversies between states and 
the constitutional conflicts within states when appealed 
to by one of the parties concerned. Otherwise matters of 
organization, jurisdiction, and procedure of the German 
courts are left to the regulation of the imperial legislature, 
which has created a uniform system of courts for the empire. 
There are four grades of courts, the lowest being the district 
court for the trial of petty, civil, and criminal cases. This 
court is presided over by a single judge in the trial of civil 
cases, who has associated with him two laymen for the 
trial of criminal cases. Xext above the district court- are 
the territorial courts, divided into civil and criminal chambers, 
with appellate jurisdiction from the lower courts and orig- 
inal jurisdiction over larger civil and graver criminal 

5es. The next highest courts arc the superior courts, 
likewise divided into civil and criminal chamber-, with 
appellate jurisdiction only. Standing at the top of the 
judicial system is the imperial court, which has its seat at 
Leipzig in Saxony. It is composed of four criminal and 
six civil senates, with an aggregate membership of over 



410 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

ninety. These judges are appointed by the emperor with 
the consent of the federal council. Their tenure is for life, 
and they cannot be removed by any authority except that 
of the court itself as a matter of discipline. It has appellate 
jurisdiction over civil cases brought to it from the superior 
and consular courts. The criminal jurisdiction of the im- 
perial court extends in first and last instances to all cases 
of high treason against the emperor or the empire, and to 
appeal in certain cases from the territorial and jury courts. 
The position of the judiciary is one of absolute independ- 
ence. The judges cannot be removed, transferred, or re- 
tired against their will. With the exception of the judges 
of the imperial court, all judges are appointed and paid by 
the several stales, and are regarded as stale judges, al- 
though their positions are created and their qualifications 
prescribed by imperial law. Local government in Germany 
may be said to consist of such supervisory service as may 
be necessary to insure the strict enforcement of imperial law 
by state authority. 

French Government. The government of France may be 
characterized as a centralized parliamentary republic. It 
has a written constitution outlining in a general way the 
framework of government. The numerous limitations upon 
the government in regard to individual liberty, so noticeable 
in the constitution of the United States, are wholly lacking 
in the French constitution. The French constitution is 
therefore one of government rather than of liberty. It is 
short and concise, leaving to the ordinary processes of legis- 
lation nearly all matters of detail. 

The French National Legislature. This body consists 
of two houses, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. 
To the Chamber of Deputies belongs the exclusive power to 
originate revenue measures ; otherwise the two chambers 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 411 

are substantially equal in matters of legislation. The 
members of the Chamber of Deputies are chosen by univer- 
sal male suffrage by districts just as representatives of 
Congress are chosen. Their term of service is fixed at four 
years. As to the composition and organization of the Sen- 
ate, the constitution makes no provision and but scant 
reference to its powers. France is divided into adminis- 
trative departments, each department subdivided into dis- 
tricts containing approximately the same population. The 
number of districts within an administrative department 
constitutes an electoral college, and these various electoral 
colleges choose the members of the Senate. Senators are 
apportioned among the several departments according to 
population. The term of office for senators is fixed at nine 
years. The constitution provides that the terms of one 
third of the number of senators shall expire every three 
years. Like members of Congress, they enjoy certain im- 
munities while in the discharge of their duties as legislators. 
Measures duly passed by both chambers are sent to the 
president for his approval, but he has neither an absolute 
nor a qualified veto. He may, however, demand a recon- 
sideration of the measure, and, if passed by a majority of both 
houses, it becomes a law notwithstanding his objections. 

The French Executive. The French chief executive is 
called a president and is not elected by popular vote but 
i- chosen by majority vote of a body composed of the mem- 
bers of the two chambers of the legislature. The president's 
term is fixed at seven years, and he is eligible for reelection. 
No person who is a member of any family that has reigned 
in France i> eligible. The president's executive powers 
include the negotiating of treaties, the appointment and 
reception of ambassadors and ministers, and the power to 
wage war. In addition to the legislative power above 



412 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

referred to, the president may prorogue parliament and in- 
itiate legislative measures. He has almost unlimited power 
of appointment and supervision of administrative officers, 
and also extensive ordinance powers where the legislature 
has not made proper provision, and directs the work of 
the army and navy. He may also grant pardons, com- 
mute penalties, and issue reprieves. In exercising the 
above powers the president acts through his ministers, who 
are collectively responsible to the legislature for the genera] 
policy of the administration and individually responsible for 
their own personal acts, thus relieving the president of all 
responsibility, although they are discharging his orders — a 
relation similar to that existing between the emperor and 
chancellor in the German government. The ministers are 
appointed by the president and serve during his pleasure, 
in theory ; in practice, however, they are appointed by the 
leader of the Chamber of Deputies. Like the members of 
the British cabinet, the ministers are selected from the mem- 
bers of parliament usually, and in any event are entitled to 
seats in the chambers, and must be heard whenever they 
desire to speak. They are the heads of the several ad- 
ministrative departments. of the genera] government, and 
are the leaders -of the majority in the Legislature. 

The French Judicial System. The French judicial 
system is purely statutory, the only constitutional provi- 
sion being that which relates to the Senate as an extraordi- 
nary court for specified cases. Of the system of courts, 
the highest is the Court of Cassation. Next below this 
are the courts of appeal, which hear cases from the courts 
of first instance, while these in turn hear appeals from 
decisions of the justices of the peace. These smaller 
courts try civil cases and act as police judges for the trial 
of petty offenses. There are numerous special courts. 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 413 

The ordinary civil courts are without juries, the judges 
alone deciding the question of fact as well as of law. The 
judges are appointed by the president, and their tenure, 
except that of justices of the peace, is during good behavior. 
They can be removed only by the Court of Cassation. In 
the government of local affairs France differs from the 
English and American governments in that the organs of 
local government are not general authorities of enumerated 
powers, no attempt being made at specification. To pre- 
vent local administrative units from misusing such wide 
powers, there has been introduced a method of central ad- 
ministrative control, which is the distinguishing feature of 
French government. Through these local officials the cen- 
tral government administers matters of general concern. 

Canada's Constitution. By act of Parliament the various 
provinces of British North America w T ere organized into a 
federal government in 1867. A written constitution was 
embodied in the act and is still in force. This constitution 
differs from the constitution of the United States in that 
all powers not specifically delegated to the provinces are 
reserved to the central government. The administration 
of the public debt and property ; the raising of taxes for 
general use ; providing for the public defense, including the 
militia ; money, including coinage, paper money, promis- 
sory notes, legal tender, and banking; the regulation 
of commerce, shipping, and navigation; the coast and 
postal service, the census, statistics, patents, naturali- 
zation, copyrights, care of the Indian-, marriage and 
divorce — all are questions dealt with by the- central gov- 
ernment. Delegated to the provinces are those powers 
over local taxes, local commerce, the creation of municipal 
corporations, the borrowing of money on the credit of 
the province, and various other local questions. The 



414 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

provincial and federal governments also exercise concurrent 
powers, some of which relate to immigration and agricul- 
ture. Whenever the provincial laws conflict with those of 
the federal government, the practice has been to follow along 
the lines of federal legislation. 

Canada's Legislature. The law-making power of the 
Canadian government is vested in the king of Great Brit- 
ain, or his representative, and the Dominion parliament. 
The Dominion parliament is composed of two houses. The 
upper house is called the Senate and the lower the House of 
Commons. The eighty-seven members of the Senate are 
appointed for life by the governor-general. They must be 
subjects of the king, thirty years of age, residents of the 
province which they represent and in which they own 
property to the value o\ at least four thousand dollars. The 
House of Commons consists of 221 members elected for a 
term of five years on the basis of population. To establish 
this basis it is provided that the province o\ Quebec shall 
always have sixty-five members and the other provinc* 
number bearing the same relation to the population as the 
sixty-five does to the population of Quebec. In this manner 
the number due each province as its population increa 
is determined, the number which represent Quebec alwi 
remaining at sixty-five, regardless of the population. All 
bills relating to the raising of money must originate in 
the House of Commons, and these cannot be amended by 
the Senate. Its power of rejection entire is rarely used. 

Canada's Executive. Canada's executive power is vested 
in the king of England, or in his representative, the governor- 
general, and a privy council composed of a premier, fourteen 
heads of departments, and three cabinet ministers. The 
ministerial departments are those of State, Justice, Finance, 
Interior, Customs, Posts, Trade and Commerce, Marine and 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 415 

Fisheries. Railways and Canals, Militia and Defense, Agri- 
culture, Public Works, Inland Revenue, and Labor. The 
governor-general is guided by his ministers, who are respon- 
sible to the House of Commons. The executive may re- 
serve a law for the consideration of the home government 
or may disallow it altogether. In practice, however, the 
Former right is never exercised except when the law in 
question affects the home government in its relation to 
other foreign powers, and the latter is resorted to rarely. 

Canada's Judicial System. The judicial branch of the 
Dominion government consists of a Supreme Court, located 
at Ottawa, and an Exchequer Court. The Supreme Court 
has appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases, 
and the Exchequer Court has admiralty powers. There 
are no strictly federal inferior courts. The federal govern- 
ment, however, makes use of the provincial courts, which, on 
the other hand, are not exclusively provincial courts. In 
each province there is a superior court, also county courts, 
police magistrates, and justices of the peace, with duties 
much like those in similar courts in the United States. 
The judges of these superior and county courts are ap- 
pointed by the governor-general in council. The federal 
government likewise controls the penitentiaries. 

Switzerland: its Legislature. The republic of Switzer- 
land is a confederation composed of cantons, or states, 
and has a written constitution. Its legislature consists of a 
federal assembly of two houses, the National Council and 
the Council of the States. The two houses hold separate 

session- in the legislative matter- and joint sessions in the 
rose of certain electoral and judicial functions. In 
matter- of Legislation both houses have equal authority. The 
council of the states is composed of forty-four member-, two 
from each canton, except in three cantons which are divided, 



416 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

each half canton choosing one member. They are chosen 
according to the ideas prevailing in each canton, specifica- 
tions as to qualifications, compensation, mode of election, 
etc. being made in the constitution. The result is that the 
greatest variety of provisions prevails in the different can- 
tons. The terms vary from one to four years. The 
National Council, or popular chamber, of the legislature con- 
sists of members chosen by direct universal suffrage for a 
term of three years on the basis of population. Both houses 
choose their own officers. Their joint duties extend to the 
granting of pardons and to the election of the federal 
council, the Supreme Court, the chancellor, and the com- 
mander of the army. The ordinary legislative power of 
the federal council is very wide and extends to many 
subjects which in the United States are left to the regula- 
tion of the separate states. 

Switzerland: its Executive. The executive power is 
vested by the constitution in a federal council of seven 
members, elected for a term of three years by joint ballot 
of both houses of the federal legislature. It is the custom 
to choose the members of this council from the member- 
ship of the legislature, and to reelect them for a long period 
of time. The work of administration is divided into seven 
departments, and one member of the council is put in 
charge of each department, but the act of any councilor 
in his department is considered to be the act of the whole 
council. The council is organized under a president and a 
vice president, who are members of the council chosen by 
the legislature for one year. This council sustains a rela- 
tion to the legislature similar to that of the cabinet in the 
parliamentary system of government. As members of the 
legislature, councilors take an active part in its deliberation, 
introduce bills, enter into the debates, and in various ways 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 417 

exercise a great influence upon the legislative work. Their 
administrative duties extend to controversies usually set- 
tled by special administrative courts. They have large 
supervisory power over local government in the various 
cantons, especially in the administration of federal law. 
In addition to these functions the council has extensive 
powers usually exercised by a nation's executive. 

Switzerland : its Judicial Department. The judicial 
power of Switzerland is vested in a Supreme Court consisting 
of fourteen judges, elected for a term of six years by the 
federal assembly, which also designates a president and a 
vice president of the court for two years. The court is 
divided into three sections, each of which holds a session in 
one of the live judicial districts into which Switzerland is 
divided. The jurisdiction of the federal court extends to 
conflicts of authority between the confederation and the 
cantons, to disputes between cantons, and to complaints of 
the violation of individual rights. It also has jurisdiction 
over civil matters concerning suits between the confedera- 
tion and the cantons or between the cantons themselves, or 
suits against the confederation or between the cantons and 
private individuals or corporations. Cases may be appealed 
from the cantonal courts to the Supreme Court where the 
amount exceeds 3000 francs (about $600). Its criminal 
jurisdiction extends to cases of treason, violations against 
federal authorities, and offenses against the law of nations, 
political disorder, etc. The local government is largely in 
the hands of the canton, districts, and communes. Each 
canton has its own constitution, which generally provides 
for a legislative body of one chamber elected by popular 
suffrage for a term of three or four years. It enacts laws, 
vote- taxes, and otherwise supervixs the administration 
of local affairs. 



418 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Unitary State. States may be classified as (i) single, 
or unitary, states, (2) confederations, and (3) federations, 
or federal states. The single, or unitary, state is the simplest 
form. In it the national government exists quite inde- 
pendently of any minor communities or governments that 
may exist within it ; while they, on the other hand, owe 
to it not only such powers as they possess, but usually their 
very existence. They are mere subdivisions of the national 
government. Moreover, in this unitary form of state the 
general government operates directly not only upon such 
minor communities but upon the individual citizens. In 
short, there is in the unitary state no suggestion of a division 
of sovereign ty between two governments one the national 
government, the other a subordinate government such as 
our state governments. France and Great Britain arc 
examples of unitary states. 

The Confederation. As to the confederation, it is some- 
times questioned whether it can properly be called a 
state at all, since it very rarely if ever possesses the dis- 
tinguishing characteristic of the state, that is, complete 
sovereignty. It is a union of states for certain definite 
purposes, particularly the purpose of defense, generally 
not very permanent in its character, in which the separate 
states retain their independence, delegating only certain 
portions of their authority to the union, which acts merely 
as their agent. Its members are not, as in the unitary state, 
separate individuals, nor does it deal directly with the indi- 
vidual. It has, as Mr. Bryce says, " no right of taxing 
him, or judging him, or making laws for him " ; that power 
belongs only to the states. At the same time, in its rela- 
tions with other states the confederation, so long as it exists, 
presents much the same character as the completely sover- 
eign state and must be dealt with by such states in 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 419 

practically the same way. Perhaps the most famous con- 
federation of ancient times was the Delian Confederacy in 
Greece. In modern times there have been several confed- 
erations of German states, resulting finally in the formation 
of the German Empire, which is a federation; while a still 
more familiar instance is our owm government as it existed 
under the Articles of Confederation. 

The Federal State. The federal state is a modern political 
development. In a way it may be said to stand between 
the unitary state and the confederation ; or perhaps it would 
be more accurate to say that it combines the characteristics 
of both. Like the confederation, it is a union of states ; 
but unlike it, it is itself as unquestionably a state as is the 
most powerful of unitary states. Like the unitary state, 
it has a direct claim to the obedience of the individual 
citizen ; but unlike it, the subordinate communities are 
not mere subdivisions with powers delegated to them by 
the general government. In some spheres of state action 
these subdivisions are completely independent states ; in 
others, namely, in matters pertaining to the common in- 
terest, the union alone is supreme. Neither the national gov- 
ernment nor the state government has complete authority. 
To give a more formal definition, a federation is a state made 
up by the union of other states that have permanently 
surrendered their right to act independently in matters 
pertaining to the common interest, while they have in 
other respects retained their complete independence. 
Switzerland, the German Empire, and the United States 
are example- of the federal state. 

Further Classifications. Whether a state be unitary, con- 
federate, or federal, it assumes in modern times one of 
two form- : it is either monarchical or democratic. Mon- 
archies are subject to two further classifications: (1) they 



420 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

are either absolute (where the power of the monarch is left 
uncontrolled) or limited (where the power of the monarch 
is controlled by law) ; (2) they are hereditary or elective, 
according as the office is transmitted to the monarch in 
the line of descent or as he is chosen by the votes of 
his subjects or of a part of them. Democracies likewise 
assume two forms : they are (1) pure democracies (in which 
all the members of the community share directly in the 
government) or (2) representative democracies, or republics 
(in which the government is carried on by a comparatively 
small number of persons, who have been chosen by the 
whole body of citizens to act for them). Of the above clas- 
sifications, that into hereditary and elective monarchies is 
probably sufficiently clear. The others require some further 
consideration. 

Absolute Monarchy. Among the great civilized nations 
of to-day the absolute monarchy is rare indeed. Turkey is 
the only country in Europe that can be so classed, and even 
Turkey possesses a nominal constitution, though in actual 
practice no other law than the will of the sultan is enforced. 
Where the absolute monarchy does exist, however, it differs 
very materially from the absolute monarchy of antiquity. 
The latter was governed not by what we now call law but 
by custom — rules of action that had been handed down 
from time immemorial and that bound the monarch as 
firmly as they did his humblest subject. The reign of this 
customary law the monarch could not disturb. He could 
only issue commands covering specific cases and affecting 
particular individuals. Not so with the absolute monarch 
of to-day. He may legislate on as large a scale as seems 
to him good — not issue edicts only, covering particular 
cases, but make general rules of law universally applicable. 
He may do that to-day, and to-morrow he may sweep it 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 421 

all away with a word, for his word is the only law. In 
short, the absolute monarch of to-dav can wield a power 
that the reign oi custom made quite impossible to the 
ancient monarch. In spite of this, however, the ancient 
monarchy as contrasted with the modern limited monarchy 
was essentially absolute. 

Limited Monarchy. The modern limited monarchy, 
called also the constitutional monarchy, is one in which 
the monarch is limited in the exercise of his power by 
the constitution of the kingdom. The extent of the limi- 
tations imposed varies greatly in different countries, and the 
resulting governments shade off from monarchies strongly 
tinged with absolutism to monarchies more democratic in 
some respects than the United States. All the advanced 
governments of the world, no matter what their form, 
have become during the last hundred years so deeply pene- 
trated by the democratic idea that to-day we are quite justi- 
fied in saying that monarchies exist only by democratic 
consent. 

Pure Democracy. There remains to be considered that 
form of government toward which all modern governments 
seem to tend, in principle at least if not in form. The 
pure democracy may be passed over lightly. Assemblies 
in which all the people appear in order to take part in 
the discussion and to vote become obviously impossible 
as soon as the body politic attains any considerable size. 
The pure democracy as a form of general government, 
that is, as a form of government for the whole people, 
no longer exists among civilized nations. As a form of 
local government it still exists in this country in the town 
meeting. 

Representative Democracy. The democracy of the- mod- 
ern world has assumed another form ; it has become 



422 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the representative democracy of the republic. This scheme, 
by which the political powers of a whole class or body of 
individuals are delegated to a single individual who acts 
as their agent, had been in use among the ancestors of the 
English people even before they left their homes in North 
Germany and Denmark ; and their descendants have never 
relinquished their hold upon it. What our American 
forefathers did was to apply this principle not to a class 
but to a whole people — in other words, to democratize it. 
That, however, was a long step in advance. It meant that 
they had founded the first great nation in the world whose 
government seemed to offer a solution for the old problem of 
how to maintain democratic institutions in a country 
without placing impossible and undesirable restrictions 
upon its growth. Whether the problem has even yet been 
completely solved remains to be seen. 

What is the Best Form of Government? The question 
is not infrequently asked, " What is the best form of 
government? " It is not a question that can be answered 
dogmatically. There is no absolutely " best " form of 
government — best under all conditions. To conclude that 
republicanism, because it has been successful in the United 
States, would be an equally desirable form of government 
for the inhabitants of Borneo, let us say, or for China, 
or for Russia, would be simply absurd. Perhaps the most 
we can say is that the best form of government is that 
through which, under given conditions, the state can best 
accomplish its end, whether that form be monarchical 
or democratic. It is nevertheless true that there are 
certain advantages and certain disadvantages naturally 
inherent in each of these forms. The monarchy is naturally 
a strong centralized government, that is, a government in 
which great power rests in the hands of a single person, 



COMPARISON OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 423 

and can therefore bring things to pass with vigor and 
dispatch; the republic, on the contrary, tends naturally 
toward decentralization, that is, division of political power 
among all the members oi the bod}' politic, and is not so 
strong on its administrative side, although it tends to 
develop a stronger individualism. 

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 

1. In what way is the individual citizen affected by the 
relation of one nation to another, that is, by international law? 

2. How does the constitution oi the United States differ from 
that of England? France? Germany? 

3. Give one main difference between a federal state and a 
confederation. Illustrate by naming a country which repre- 
sents your definition 

4. Compare the powers of the president of the United States 
with those of the king of England ; of the German emperor. 

5. How does the executive body of Switzerland differ from 
that of the English cabinet? 

6. Show how the imperial chancellor of Germany permits the 
people in reality to criticize the emperor. What body performs 
the same duty in the French republic? in the English system? 

7. Name the branch of the national legislature correspond- 
ing to our House of Representatives in England ; Germany ; 
France. 

8. Define "unitary state. " Compare absolute and limited 
monarchies; pure and representative democracies. Illustrate. 

9. What conditions enter into a "best form of government "? 



< 



A P P ENDIX 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF 
NEW YORK 

ADOPTED NOVEMBER 6, L894, AXD AS AMENDED AND IX 

FORCE JANUARY 1, 1910 

THE CONSTITUTION 

We, the People of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty 
God for our Freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish 
this Constitution. 

ARTICLE I 

Persons not to be Disfranchised. Sect. i. Xo member of this 
State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privi- 
leges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land, or 
the judgment of his peers. 

Trial by Jury. Sect. 2. The trial by jury in all cases in which 
it has been heretofore used shall remain inviolate forever ; but a jury 
trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases in the manner 
to be prescribed by law. 

Freedom of Worship ; Religious Liberty. Sect. 3. The free exer- 
and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without 
discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State 
to all mankind; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be 
a wil account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; 

but the liberty of co hereby secured shall not be so con- 

strued as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices incon- 
sistent with the] 

Habeas Corpus. SECT. 4. The privilege writ of habeas 

■lall not I nded, unless when, in rebellion or 

invasion, the publ k>n. 



ii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Excessive Bail and Fines. Sect. 5. Excessive bail shall not be 
required nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel and unusual 
punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreasonably de- 
tained. 

Grand Jury — Bill of Rights. Sect. 6. No person shall be held 
to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime (except in a 
of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in actual service, and 
the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep 
with the consent of Congress in time of peace, and in eases of petit 
larceny, under the regulation of the Legislature), unless on present- 
ment or indictment of a grand jury, and in any trial in any court 
whatever the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend 
in person and with counsel as ID civil actions. No person shall be 
subject to be twice put in jeopardy tor the same offense ; nor shall he 
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself 
nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process 
law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just 
compensation. 

Compensation for taking Private Property ; Private Roads ; Drain- 
age of Agricultural Lands. Sect. 7. 1 When private property shall 
be taken for any public use, the compensation to be made therefor. 
when such compensation is not made by the State, shall be as 
tained by a jury or by the Supreme Court with or without a jury, or 
by not less than three commissioners appointed by a court of record, 
as shall be prescribed by law. Private roads may be opened in the 
manner to be prescribed by law; but in every case the necessity of 
the road and the amount of all damage to be sustained by the open- 
ing thereof shall be first determined by a jury of free-holders and 
such amount, together with the expenses of the proceeding, shall be 
paid by the person to be benefited. General laws may be passed per- 
mitting the owners or occupants of agricultural lands to construct 
and maintain for the drainage thereof, necessary drains, ditches and 
dykes upon the lands of others, under proper restrictions and with 
just compensation, but no special laws shall be enacted for such 
purposes. 

The Legislature may authorize cities to take more land and property 
than is needed for actual construction in the laying out, widening, 
extending or relocating parks, public places, highways or streets; 

1 As amended November, 19 13. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK iii 

provided, however, that the additional land and property so author- 
ized to be taken shall be no more than sufficient to form suitable 
building sites abutting on such park, public place, highway or street. 
After so much oi the land arid property has been appropriated for 
such park, public place, highway or street as is needed therefor, the 
remainder may be sold or leased. 

Freedom of Speech and Press ; Criminal Prosecutions for Libel. 
Sect. S. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his 
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that 
right : and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty 
of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions or indictments 
for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it 
shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, 
and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the 
party shall be acquitted ; and the jury shall have the right to deter- 
mine the law and the fact. 

Right to Assemble and Petition ; Divorce ; Lotteries, Pool-selling 
and Gambling, Laws to Prevent. Sect. 9. No law T shall be passed 
abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to peti- 
tion the government, or any department thereof; nor shall any 
divorce be granted otherwise than by due judicial proceedings ; nor 
shall any lottery or the sale of lottery tickets, pool-selling, book- 
making, or any other kind of gambling hereafter be authorized or 
allowed within this state; and the Legislature shall pass appro- 
priate laws to prevent offenses against any of the provisions of this 
section. 

Escheats. Sect. 10. The people of this State, in their right of 
sovereignty, are deemed to possess the original and ultimate prop- 
erty in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of the State; and all 
lands the title to which shall fail, from a defect of heirs, shall revert, 
or escheat to the people. 

Feudal Tenures Abolished. SECT. ir. All feudal tenures of every 
ription, with all their incidents, are declared to be abolished. 
saving however, all rents and services certain which at any time 
heretofore have been lawfully created or reserved. 

Allodial Tenures. Si.ct. 12. All lands within this Slate are 
declared to be allodial, so that, subject only to the liability to cm heat, 
the entire and al -roperty : in the owners, according 

to the nature of their respa tive 1 



iv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Leases of Agricultural Lands. Sect. 13. No lease or grant of 
agricultural land for a longer period than twelve years, hereafter 
made, in which shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, 
shall be valid. 

Fines and Quarter-Sales Abolished. Sect. 14. All fines, quarter- 
sales, or other like restraints upon alienation, reserved in any grant 
of land hereafter to be made shall be void. 

Purchase of Lands of Indians. Sect. 15. No purchase or contract 
for the sale of lands in this State, made since the fourteenth day of 
October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five ; or which may 
hereafter be made of, or with the Indians, shall be valid unless made 
under the authority, and with the consent of the Legislature. 

Common Law and Acts of the Colonial and State Legislatures. 
Sect. 16. Such parts of the common law, and of the acts of the \a 
lature of the colony of New York, as together did form the law of 
the said colony, on the nineteenth day of April, one thousand seven 
hundred and seventy-five, and the resolutions of the Congress of the 
said colony, and of the convention of the State of New York, in 
force on the twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and 
seventy-seven, which have not since expired, or been repealed or 
altered; and such acts of the Legislature of this State as are now in 
force, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such 
alterations as the Legislature shall make concerning the same. But 
all such parts of the common law, and such of the said acts, or parts 
thereof, as are repugnant to this Constitution, are hereby abrogated. 

Grants of Land Made by the King of Great Britain since 1775; 
Prior Grants. Sect. 17. All grants of land within this State, made 
by the king of Great Britain, or persons acting under his authority, 
after the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and 
seventy-five, shall be null and void ; but nothing contained in this 
Constitution shall affect any grants of land within this State, made 
by the authority of the said king or his predecessors, or shall annul 
any charters to bodies politic and corporate, by him or them made 
before that day ; or shall affect any such grants or charters since 
made by this State, or by persons acting under its authority ; or shall 
impair the obligation of any debts, contracted by the State or indi- 
viduals, or bodies corporate, or any other rights of property, or any 
suits, actions, rights of action, or other proceedings in courts of 
justice. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK v 

Damages for Injuries causing Death. Sf.ct. 18. The right of 
action now existing to recover damages for injuries resulting in death, 
shall never be abrogated; and the amount recoverable shall not be 
subject to any statutory limitation. 

Workmen's Compensation. SECT, iq. 1 Nothing contained in this 
constitution shall be construed to limit the power of the Legislature 
to enact laws for the protection of the lives, health, or safety of em- 
ployees ; or for the payment, either by employers, or by employers 
and employees or otherwise, either directly or through a state or other 
system of insurance or otherwise, or compensation for injuries to 
employees or for death of employees resulting from such injuries 
without regard to fault as a cause thereof, except where the injury 
is occasioned by the willful intention of the injured employee to 
bring about the injury or death of himself or of another, or where the 
injury results solely from the intoxication of the injured employee 
while on duty; or for the adjustment, determination and settlement, 
with or without trial by jury, of issues which may arise under such 
legislation ; or to provide that the right of such compensation, and 
the remedy therefor shall be exclusive of all other rights and remedies 
for injuries to employees or for death resulting from such injuries ; 
or to provide that the amount of such compensation for death shall 
not exceed a fixed or determinable sum ; provided that all moneys 
paid by an employer to his employees or their legal representatives, by 
reason of the enactment of any of the laws herein authorized, shall 
be held to be a proper charge of operating the business of the employer. 

ARTICLE II 

Qualifications of Voters. Sect. i. Every citizen of the age of 
twenty-one years, who shall have been a citizen for ninety days, and 
an inhabitant of this State one year next preceding an election, and 
the last four months a resident of the county and for the last thirty 
days a resident of the election district in which he or she may offer his 
or her vote, shall be entitled to vote at such election in 
district of which he or she shall at the time be a resident, and I 
elsewhere, for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elective 
the people, and upon all questions which may be submitted to the t 
of the people, provided, however, that a citizen by marriage shall have 
been an inhabitant of the Lnitcd States for five years; and provided 
amended November, 191 3. 



vi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

that in time of war no elector in the actual military service of the State, 
or of the United States, in the army or navy thereof, shall be deprived 
of his or her vote by reason of his or her absence from such election 
district ; and the Legislature shall have power to provide the manner in 
which and the time and place at which such absent electors may vote, 
and for the return and canvass of their votes in the election districts in 
which they respectively reside. 

Persons Excluded from the Right of Suffrage. Sect. 2. No 
person who shall receive, accept, or offer to receive, or pay, offer or 
promise to pay, contribute, offer or promise to contribute to another, 
to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compensa- 
tion or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at an election, 
or who shall make any promise to influence the giving or withhold- 
ing any such vote, or who shall make or become directly or indirectly 
interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any elec- 
tion, shall vote at such election ; and upon challenge for such cause, 
the person so challenged, before the officers authorized for that pur- 
pose shall receive his vote, shall swear or affirm before such officers 
that he has not received or offered, does not expect to receive, has 
not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised 
to contribute to another, to be paid or used any money or other 
valuable thing as a compensation or reward for the giving or with- 
holding a vote at such election, and has not made any promise to 
influence the giving or withholding of any such vote, nor made or 
become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depend- 
ing upon the result of such election. The Legislature shall enact 
laws excluding from the right of suffrage all persons convicted of 
bribery or of any infamous crime. 

Certain Occupations and Conditions not to affect Residence. 
Sect. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to 
have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence, 
while employed in the service of the United States ; nor while en- 
gaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the United 
States, or of the high seas ; nor while a student of any seminary of 
learning ; nor while kept at any almshouse, or other asylum, or 
institution wholly or partly supported at public expense or by 
charity ; nor while confined in any public prison. 

Registration and Election Laws to be Passed. Sect. 4. Laws 
shall be made for ascertaining, by proper proofs, the citizens who shall 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK vii 

be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established, anci for the 
registration of voters; which registration shall be completed at Least 
ten days before each election. Such registration shall not be required 
for town and village elections except by express provision oi law. 
In eities and villages having live thousand inhabitants or more. 
according to the last preceding state enumeration of inhabitants, 
voters shall be registered upon personal application only; but voters 
not residing in such eities or villages shall not be required to apply 
in person for registration at the lirst meeting of the officers having 
charge of the registry oi voters. 

Manner of Voting. Sect. 5. All elections by the citizens, except 
for such town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise 
chosen, shall be by ballot, or by such other method as may be pre- 
scribed by law, provided that secrecy in voting be preserved. 

Registration and Election Boards to be Bi-partisan, except at 
Town and Village Elections. Sect. 6. All laws creating, regulating 
or affecting boards of officers charged with the duty of registering 
voters, or of distributing ballots at the polls to voters, or of receiving, 
recording or counting votes at elections, shall secure equal repre- 
sentation of the two political parties which, at the general election 
next preceding that for which such boards or officers are to serve, 
cast the highest and the next highest number of votes. All such 
boards and officers shall be appointed or elected in such manner, 
and upon the nomination of such representatives of said parties 
respectively, as the Legislature may direct. Existing laws on this 
subject shall continue until the Legislature shall otherwise provide. 
This section shall not apply to town meetings, or to village elections. 

ARTICLE III 

Legislative Powers. Sect. i. The legislative power of this State 
shall be vested in the Senate and Assembly. 

Number and Terms of Senators and Assemblymen. Si CT. 2. 
The Senate shall consist of fifty member pi a- herein; 

provided. The scna: ted in the year one thousand eight 

hundred and ninety-five -hall hold their offices for threi 
and their successors shall be chosen for t? Th< Assembly 

shall consist of one hundred and fifty members, who shall be 
seD for one year. 



viii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Senate Districts. Sect. 3. 1 The state shall be divided into fifty 
districts to be called senate districts, each of which shall choose one 
senator. The districts shall be numbered from one to fifty, inclu- 
sive. (Here follows an enumeration of the districts.) 

Enumerations and Reapportionments. Sfxt. 4. An enumeration 
of the inhabitants of the State shall be taken under the direction 
of the Secretary of State, during the months of May and June, 
in the year one thousand nine hundred and five, and in the same 
months every tenth year thereafter; and the said districts shall be 
so altered by the Legislature at the first regular session after the 
return of every enumeration, that each senate district shall contain 
as nearly as may be an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, 
and be in as compact form as practicable, and shall remain unaltered 
until the return of another enumeration, and shall at all times, con- 
sist of contiguous territory, and do county shall be divided in the 
formation of a senate district except to make two or more senate 
districts wholly in such county. No town, and no block in a city 
inclosed by streets or public ways, shall be divided in the formation 
of senate districts; nor shall any district contain a greater ei 
in population over an adjoining district in the same county, than the 
population of a town or block therein adjoining such district. Coun- 
ties, towns or blocks which, from their location may be included in 
either of two districts, shall be so placed as to make said districts 
most nearly equal in number of inhabitants, excluding aliens. 

No county shall have four or more senators unless it shall have a 
full ratio for each senator. No county shall have more than one- 
third of all the senators ; and no two counties or the territory thereof 
as now organized, which are adjoining counties, or which are sepa- 
rated only by public waters, shall have more than one-half of all 
the senators. 

The ratio for apportioning senators shall always be obtained by 
dividing the number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, by fifty, and 
the senate shall always be composed of fifty members, except that if 
any county having three or more senators at the time of any appor- 
tionment shall be entitled* on such ratio to an additional senator 
or senators, such additional senator or senators shall be given to 

1 For present apportionment of Senate districts, see chapter 727, Laws 
of 1907. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK ix 

such county in addition to the fifty senators, and the whole number 
of senators shall be increased to that extent. 

Apportionment of Assemblymen ; Creation of Assembly Districts. 
Sect. 5. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen by single 
districts and shall be apportioned by the Legislature at the first 
regular session after the return of every enumeration among the 
several counties of the state, as nearly as may be according to the 
number of their respective inhabitants, excluding aliens. Every 
county heretofore established and separately organized, except the 
county of Hamilton, shall always be entitled to one member of 
Assembly, and no county shall hereafter be erected unless its popu- 
lation shall entitle it to a member. The county of Hamilton shall 
elect with the county of Fulton, until the population of the county 
of Hamilton shall, according to the ratio, entitle it to a member. 
But the Legislature may abolish the said county of Hamilton and 
annex the territory thereof to some other county or counties. 

The quotient obtained by dividing the whole number of inhabit- 
ants of the State, excluding aliens, by the number of members of 
assembly, shall be the ratio for apportionment, which shall be made 
as follows : One member of assembly shall be apportioned to every 
county, including Fulton and Hamilton as one county, containing 
less than the ratio and one-half over. Two members shall be appor- 
tioned to every other county. The remaining members of assembly 
shall be apportioned to the counties having more than two ratios 
according to the number of inhabitants, excluding aliens. Members 
apportioned on remainders shall be apportioned to the counties 
having the highest remainders in the order thereof respectively. No 
county shall have more members of assembly than a county having 
a greater number of inhabitants, excluding aliens. 

Until after the next enumeration, members of the Assembly shall 
be apportioned to the several counties as follows: 1 (Here follows 
an enumeration of the counties with the number of assemblymen 
apportioned to each.) 

In any county entitled to more than one member, the board of 
supervisors, and in any city embracing an entire county and having 
no board of supervisors, the common council, or if there be none, 

1 For present apportionment of members of Assembly, see chapter 727, 
Laws of 1907. 



x ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the body exercising the powers of a common council, shall assemble 
on the second Tuesday of June, one thousand eight hundred and 
ninety-five, and at such times as the Legislature making an appor- 
tionment shall prescribe, and divide such counties into assembly 
districts as nearly equal in number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, 
as may be, of convenient and contiguous territory in as compact 
form as practicable, each of which shall be wholly within a senate 
district formed under the same apportionment, equal to the number 
of members of Assembly to which such county shall be entitled, 
and shall cause to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and 
of the clerk of such county, a description of such districts, specifying 
the number of each district and of the inhabitants thereof, excluding 
aliens, according to the last preceding enumeration ; and such appor- 
tionment and districts shall remain unaltered until another enumer- 
ation shall be made, as herein provided ; but said division of the 
city of Brooklyn and the county of Kings to be made on the second 
Tuesday of June, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, shall 
be made by the common council of the said city and the board of 
supervisors of said county, assembled in joint session. In counties 
having more than one senate district, the same number of assembly 
districts shall be put in each senate district, unless the assembly 
districts cannot be evenly divided among the senate districts 
any county, in which case one more assembly district shall be 
put in the senate district in such county having the largest, or one 
less assembly district shall be put in the senate district in such 
county having the smallest number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, 
as the case may require. No town, and no block in a city inclosed 
by streets or public ways, shall be divided in the formation of as- 
sembly districts, nor shall any districts contain a greater excess in 
population over an adjoining district in the same senate district. 
than the population of a town or block therein adjoining such assem- 
bly district. Towns or blocks which, from their location may be 
included in either of two districts, shall be so placed as to make said 
districts most nearly equal in number of inhabitants, excluding 
aliens; but in the division of cities under the first apportionment, 
regard shall be had to the number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, 
of the election districts according to the state enumeration of one 
thousand eight hundred and ninety-two, so far as may be, instead 
of blocks. Nothing in this section shall prevent the division, at 



CONSTITUTION" OF NEW YORK xj 

any time, of counties and towns, and the erection of new towns by 
the Legislature. 

An apportionment by the Legislature, or other body, shall be 
subject to review by the Supreme Court, at the suit of any citizen, 
under such reasonable regulations as the Legislature may prescribe ; 
and any court before which a cause may be pending involving an 
apportionment, shall give precedence thereto over all other causes 
and proceedings, and if said court be not in session it shall convene 
promptly for the disposition of the same. 

Compensation of Members. Sect. 6. Each member of the Legis- 
lature shall receive for his services an annual salary of one thousand 
five hundred dollars. The members of either house shall also receive 
the sum of one dollar for even* ten miles they shall travel in going 
to and returning from their place of meeting, once in each session, 
on the most usual route. Senators, when the Senate alone is con- 
vened in extraordinary session, or when serving as members of the 
Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and such members of the 
mbly. not exceeding nine in number, as shall be appointed 
managers of an impeachment, shall receive an additional allowance 
of ten dollars a day. 

Civil Appointments of Members Void. Sect - I i member of 
the Legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this State, 
or the Senate of the L'nited States, from the Governor, the Governor 
and Senate, or from the Legislature, or from any city government, 
during the time for which he shall have been elected ; and all such 
appointments and all votes given for any such member for any such 
office or appointment shall be void. 

Persons Disqualified from being Members. Sect. S. Xo per- 
son shai. ble to the Legislature, who at the time of his elec- 
tion, is, or within one hundred days previous thereto has been, a 
member of Congress, a civil or military officer under the L'nited 
States, or any officer under any city government. And if any 
son shall, after his election as a member of the Legislate ted 
to Congress, or appointed to any office, civil or military, under the 
government of the L'nited States, or under any city government, 
his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat. 

Time of Elections. Sect. q. The elections of senators and mem- 
bly. pursuant to th of this Constitution, 

shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding th em- 

ber, unless otherwise directed by the Legislature. 



xii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Powers of Each House. Sect. io. A majority of each house 
shall constitute a quorum to do business. Each house shall deter- 
mine the rules of its own proceedings, and be the judge of the elec- 
tions, returns and qualifications of its own members ; shall choose 
its own officers; and the Senate shall choose a temporary president 
to preside in case of the absence or impeachment of the Lieutenant- 
Governor, or when he shall refuse to act as president, or shall act 
as Governor. 

Journals; Open Sessions ; Adjournments. Skct.ii. Each house 
shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, except 
such parts as may require secrecy. The doors of each house shall 
be kepi open, except when the public welfare shall require seen 
Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for 
more than two days. 

Members not to be Questioned for Speeches. SECT. 12. lor any 
speech or debate in cither house of the Legislature, the members 
shall not he questioned in any other place. 

Billmay originate in Either House. Sin. [3. Any bill may origi- 
nate in either house of the Legislature, and all bills passed by 
one house may be amended by the other. 

Enacting Clause of Bills. SECT. [4. 'The enacting clause of all 
bills shall be kl The People of the State o\ New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows." and no law shall be 

enacted except by bill. 

Manner of Passing Bills. SECT. 15. No bill shall be passed or 
become a law unless it shall have been printed and upon the d< 
of the members, in its final form, at least three calendar legislative 
days prior to its final passage, unless the Governor, or the acting 
Governor, shall have certified to the necessity of its immediate 
passage, under his hand and the seal of the State; nor shall any 
bill be passed or become a law, except by the assent of the major- 
ity of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature; and 
upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereof shall be al- 
lowed, and the question upon its final passage shall be taken imme- 
diately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered on the journal. 

Private and Local Bills not to Embrace more than One Subject. 
Sect. 16. No private or local bill, which may be passed by the 
Legislature, shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be 
expressed in the title. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xiii 

Existing Law made Applicable to be Inserted. SECT. 17. N 
shall be passed which shall provide that any existing law. or any part 
thereof, shall be made or deen - . :. or which shall 

enact that any existing law. or part thereof, shall be applicab. 
by inserting it in such . 

Cases in which Private and Local Bills shall not be passed ; Restric- 
tions as to Laws authorizing Street Railroads - ITm 1 
lature shall not pass a private or local bill in any of the following 

s - 

Changing the names of persons. 

Laying out. opening, altering, working or discontinuing roads, 
highways or alleys, or for draining swamps or other low lands. 

Locating or changing county seats. 

Providing for changes of venue in civil or criminal cas 

Incorporating villages 

Providing for election of members of boards of supervisors. 

Selecting, drawing, summoning or impaneling grand or petit jurors. 
• Regulating the rate of interest on money. 

The opening and conducting of elections or designating pla 
voting. 

Creating, increasing or decreasing fees, percentages or alio war 
of public officers, during the term for which said officers are elected 
or appointed. 

Granting to any corporation, association or individual the right to 
lay down railroad tra 

Granting to any private corporation, association or individual any 
exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever. 

Granting to any person, association, firm or corporation, an exemp- 
tion from taxation on real or personal prop^ 

Providing for building bridges, and chartering companies for such 
purposes, except on the Hudson river below Waterford. and on the 
East river, or over the waters forming a part of the boundaries of 
the state. 

The legislature shall pass general laws providing for tl M 
enumerated in this section, and for all otru hich in 

ment. may be provided fof But no law shall author- 

ize the construction or operation of a street railr pi upon 

the condition that the consent of the owners of one-half in vah:< 

Ll amended November, 1901. 



xiv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

the property bounded on, and the consent also of the local authori- 
ties having the control of, that portion of a street or highway upon 
which it is proposed to construct or operate such railroad be 
obtained, or in case the consent of such property owners cannot be 
obtained, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, in the 
partment in which it is proposed to be constructed, may. upon appli- 
cation, appoint three commissioners who shall determine, after a 
hearing of all parties interested, whether such railroad ought to be 
constructed or operated, and their determination, confirmed by the 
court, may be taken in lieu of the consent of the property ownei 

Private Claims not to be Audited by Legislature. Si CT. iq. The 
Legislature shall neither audit nor allow any private claim or account 
against the State, but may appropriate money to pay such claims as 
shall have been audited and allowed according to law. 

Two-Thirds Bills. SECT. 20. The assent of two-thirds of the 
members elected t<> each branch of the legislature shall be requisite 
to every bill appropriating the public moneys or property lor local 
or private purposes. 

Appropriation Bills. Si.ct. 21. No money shall ever be paid out 
of the treasury of this State, or any of its funds, or any of the funds 
under its management, except in pursuance of an appropriation by 
law; nor unless such payment be made within two years next after 
the passage of such appropriation act : and every such law making a 
new appropriation or continuing or reviving an appropriation, shall 
distinctly specify the sum appropriated, and the object to which it is 
to be applied ; and it shall not be sufficient for such law to refer to 
any- other law to fix such sum. 

Restrictions as to Provisions in the Appropriation or Supply Bills. 
Sect. 22. No provision or enactment shall be embraced in the annual 
appropriation or supply bill, unless it relates specifically to some par- 
ticular appropriation in the bill; and any such provision or enact- 
ment shall be limited in its operation to such appropriation. 

Certain Sections not to apply to Commission Bills. Sect. 2 3. Sec- 
tions seventeen and eighteen of this article shall not apply to any 
bill, or the amendments to any bill, which shall be reported to the 
legislature by commissioners who have been appointed pursuant to 
law to revise the statutes. 

Tax Bills to State Tax Distinctly. Sect. 24. Every law which 
imposes, continues or revives a tax shall distinctly state the tax and 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xv 

the object to which it is to be applied, and it shall not be sufficient 
to refer to any other law to fix such tax or object. 

When Ayes and Nays Necessary ; Three-Fifths to constitute 
Quorum. Sect. 25. On the final passage, in either house of the 
Legislature, o\ any act which imposes, continues or revives a tax, or 
creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or revives any appropria- 
tion of public or trust money or property, or releases, discharges or 
commutes any claim or demand of the State, the question shall 
be taken by yeas and nays, which shall be duly entered upon the 
journals, and three-fifths of all the members elected to either house 
shall, in all such cases, be necessary to constitute a quorum therein. 

Boards of Supervisors. Sect. 26. * There shall be in each county, 
except in a county wholly included in a city, a board of super- 
visors, to be composed of such members and elected in such manner 
and for such period as is or may be provided by law. In a city 
which includes an entire county, or two or more entire counties, the 
powers and duties of a board of supervisors may be devolved upon 
the municipal assembly, common council, board of aldermen or other 
legislative body of the city. 

Local Legislative Powers. Sect. 2j. 2 The Legislature shall, by 
general laws, confer upon the boards of supervisors of the several 
counties of the State such further powers of local legislation and ad- 
ministration as the Legislature may, from time to time, deem expe- 
dient, and in counties which now have, or may hereafter have, county 
auditors or other fiscal officers, authorized to audit bills, accounts, 
charges, claims or demands against the county, the Legislature may 
confer such powers upon said auditors, or fiscal officers, as the Legis- 
lature may. from time to time, deem expedient. 

Extra Compensation Prohibited. Sect. 28. The Legislature shall 
not, nor shall the common council of any city, nor any board of super- 
visors, grant any extra compensation to any public officer, servant, 
agent or contractor. 

Prison Labor ; Contract System Abolished. Sect. 29. The Legis- 
lature shall, by law. provide for the occupation and employment of 
prisoners sentenced to the several State prisons, penitentiaries, jails 
and reformatories in the State; and on and after the first day of 
January, in the year one thousand eighl hundred and ninety-seven, 

1 As amended November, 1899. 
- As amended November, 1909. 



xvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

no person in any such prison, penitentiary, jail or reformatory, shall 
be required or allowed to work, while under sentence thereto, at any 
trade, industry or occupation, wherein or whereby his work, or the 
product or profit of his work, shall be farmed out, contracted, given 
or sold to any person, firm, association or corporation. This section 
shall not be construed to prevent the Legislature from providing 
that convicts may work for, and that the products of their labor 
may be disposed of to, the State or any political division thereof, or 
for or to any public institution owned or managed and controlled 
by the State, or any political division thereof. 

ARTICLE IV 

Executive Power. Sect. i. The executive power shall be vested 
in a Governor, who shall hold his office for two years; a Lieutenant- 
Governor shall be chosen at the same time, and for the same term. 
The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor elected next preceding the 
time when this section shall lake effect, shall hold office until and 
including the thirty-first day of December, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and ninety-six, and their successors shall be chosen at the general 
election in that year. 

Qualifications of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. Sf.ct. 2. 
No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant- 
Governor, except a citizen of the United States, of the age of not less 
than thirty years, and who shall have been live years next preceding 
his election a resident of this State. 

Election of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. Sect. 3. The 
Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the times 
and places of choosing members of the Assembly. The persons re- 
spectively having the highest number of votes for Governor and 
Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected ; but in case two or more 
shall have an equal and the highest number of votes for Governor 
or for Lieutenant-Governor, the two houses of the Legislature at 
its next annual session shall forthwith, by joint ballot, choose one of 
the said persons so having an equal and the highest number of 
votes for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor. 

Duties and Powers of Governor ; Compensation. Sect. 4. The 
Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the military and naval 
forces of the State. He shall have power to convene the Legislature, 



CONSTTTl TION OF NEW YORK xvii 

or the Senate only, on extraordinary occasions. At extraordinary 
ions no subject shall be acted upon, except such as the Governor 
may recommend for consideration. He shall communicate by mes- 
sage to the Legislature at every session the condition of the State, 
and recommend such matters to it as he shall judge expedient. He 
shall transact all necessary business with the officers oi government, 
civil and military, lie shall expedite all such measures as may be 

Ived upon by the Legislature, and shall take care that the laws 

are faithfully executed. He shall receive for his services an annual 

salary of ten thousand dollars, and there shall be provided for his 

suitable and furnished executive residence. 

Reprieves, Commutations, and Pardons to be granted by Governor. 

;. $« The Governor shall have the power to grant reprieves, 
commutations and pardons after conviction, for all offenses except 
treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and with 
such restrictions and limitations, as he may think proper, subject to 
such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner 
of applying for pardons. L'pon conviction for treason, he shall have 
power to suspend the execution of the sentence, until the case shall 
be reported to the Legislature at its next meeting, when the Legis- 
lature shall either pardon, or commute the sentence, direct the exe- 
cution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall annually 
communicate to the Legislature each case of reprieve, commutation 
or pardon granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of 
which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of 
the commutation, pardon or reprieve. 

When Lieutenant-Governor to act as Governor. Sect. 6. In 
case of the impeachment of the Governor, or his removal from office, 
death, inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, 

^nation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of the 
office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor for the residue of 
the term, or until the disability shall cease. Hut when the Gover- 
nor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the State, 
in time of war. at the head of a military force thereof, he shall con- 
tinue Commander-in-Chief of all the military force of the State. 

Qualifications and Duties of Lieutenant-Governor ; Succession to 
the Governorship. Sect. 7. The Lieutenant-Governor shall pos- 
sess the same qualifi I eligibility for office as the Governor. 

He -hall be president of tl . but shall have only a lasting vote 



xviii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

therein. If during a vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieu- ■ 
tenant-Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become 
incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from the 
State, the President of the Senate shall act as Governor until the 
vacancy be filled or the disability shall cease ; and if the President 
of the Senate for any of the above causes shall become incapable of 
performing the duties pertaining to the office of Governor, the Speaker 
of the Assembly shall act as Governor until the vacancy be filled or 
the disability shall cease. 

Salary of Lieutenant-Governor. Sect. 8. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor shall receive for his services an annual salary of five thousand 
dollars, and shall not receive or be entitled to any other compensa- 
tion, fee or perquisite, for any duty or service he may be required to 
perform by the Constitution or by law. 

Bills to be presented to Governor; Approval; Passage of Bill by 
Legislature if not Approved. SECT. o. Every bill which shall have 
passed the Senate and Assembly shall, before it becomes a law. be 
presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but it 
not, he shall return it with Ids objections to the- house in which it 
shall have originated, which shall enter the objections at large on 
the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsidera- 
tion, two-thirds of the members elected to that house shall agra 
pass the bill, it shall be sent together with the ( bjeetic ns. to the other 
house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered ; and if approved 
by two-thirds of the members elected to that he use, it shall become 
a law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. In all such 
cases the votes in both houses shall be determined by yeas and v., 
and the names of the members voting shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the 
Governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if 
he had signed it, unless the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, 
prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law without the 
approval of the Governor. No bill shall become a law after the final 
adjournment of the Legislature, unless approved by the Governor 
within thirty days after such adjournment. If any bill presented 
to the Governor contain several items of appropriation of money, he 
may object to one or more of such items while approving of the othei 
portion of the bill. In such case he shall append to the bill, at the 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xix 

time of signing it, a statement of the items to which he objects; and 
the appropriation so objected to shall not take effect. If the Legis- 
lature be in session, he shall transmit to the house in which the bill 
originated a copy of such statement, and the items objected to shall 
be separately reconsidered. If on reconsideration one or more of 
such items be approved by two-thirds of the members elected to 
each house, the same shall be part of the law, notwithstanding the 
objections of the Governor. All the provisions of this section, in 
relation to bills not approved by the Governor, shall apply in cases 
in which he shall withhold his approval from any item or items con- 
tained in a bill appropriating money. 

ARTICLE V 

State Officers. Sect. i. The Secretary of State, Comptroller, 
Treasurer, Attorney-General and State Engineer and Surveyor shall 
be chosen at a general election, at the times and places of electing 
the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, and shall hold their offices 
for two years, except as provided in section two of this article. Each 
of the officers in this article named, excepting the Speaker of the 
Assembly, shall, at stated times during his continuance in office, 
receive for his services a compensation which shall not be increased 
or diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected ; 
nor shall he receive to his use any fees or perquisites of office or other 
compensation. No person shall be elected to the office of State 
Engineer and Surveyor who is not a practical civil engineer. 

First Election of State Officers. Sect. 2. The first election of the 
Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General and 
State Engineer and Surveyor, pursuant to this article, shall be held 
in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, and their 
terms of office shall begin on the first day of January following, and 
shall be for three years. At the general election in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and every two years there- 
after, their successors shall be chosen for the term of two years. 

Superintendent of Public Works ; Appointment; Powers and Duties 
of. Skct. ,s. A superintendent of public works shall be appointed 
by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
and hold his office until the end of the term of the Governor, by whom 
he was nominated, and until his successor is appointed and qualified. 



xx ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

He shall receive a compensation to be fixed by law. He shall be 
required by law to give security for the faithful execution of his office 
before entering upon the duties thereof. He shall be charged with 
the execution of all laws relating to the repair and navigation of the 
canals, and also of those relating to the construction and impro 
ment of the canals, except so far as the execution of the laws relating 
to such construction or improvement shall be confided to the State 
Engineer and Surveyor; subject to the control of the Legislature, 
he shall make the rules and regulations for the navigation or li- 
the canals. He may be suspended or removed from office by the 
Governor, whenever, in his judgment, the public interest shall 
require; but in case of the removal of such Superintendent of Public 
Works from office, the Governor shall file with the Secretary of State 
a statement of the cause of such removal, and shall report such re- 
moval and the cause thereof to tin- Legislature at its next Session. 
The Superintendent of Public Works shall appoint not more than 
three assistant superintendents, whose duties shall be prescribed by 
him, subject to modification by the Legislature, and who shall re- 
ceive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law. They 
shall hold their office for three years, subject to suspension or re- 
moval by the Superintendent of Public Works, whenever, in his 
judgment, the public interest shall so require. Any vacancy in the 

office of any such assistant superintendent shall be tilled for tin 

mainder of the term for which he was appointed, by the Superin- 
tendent of Public Works; but in case of the suspension or removal 
of any such assistant superintendent by him. he shall at once report 
to the Governor, in writing, the cause of such removal. All other 
persons employed in the care and management of the canals, except 
collectors o\ tolls, and those in the department of the State Engineer 
and Surveyor, shall 'he appointed by the Superintendent of Public 
Works, and be subject to suspension or removal by him. The Super 
intendent of Public Works shall perform all the duties of the former 
Canal Commissioners and Board of Canal Commissioners, as now 
declared by law, until otherwise provided by the Legislature. The 
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
have power to fill vacancies in the office of Superintendent of Public 
Works ; if the Senate be not in session, he may grant commissions 
which shall expire at the end of the next succeeding session of the 
Senate. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxi 

Superintendent of State Prisons, Appointment ; Powers and Duties 
of. Sect. 4. A Superintendent oi State Prisons shall be appointed 
by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
and hold his office for five years, unless sooner removed : he shall <jive 
security in such amount, and with such sureties as shall be required 
by law for the faithful discharge of his duties ; he shall have the super- 
intendence, management and control of State prisons, subject to such 
laws as now exist or may hereafter be enacted : he shall appoint the 
agents, wardens, physicians and chaplains of the prisons. The a^ni 
and warden of each prison shall appoint all other officers of such prison, 
except the clerk, subject to the approval of the same by the Superin- 
tendent. The Comptroller shall appoint the clerks of the prisons. The 
Superintendent shall have all the powers and perform all the duties 
not inconsistent herewith, which were formerly had and performed 
by the Inspectors of State Prisons. The Governor may remove the 
Superintendent for cause at any time, giving to him a copy of the 
charges against him, and an opportunity to be heard in his defense. 

Commissioners of the Land Office ; of the Canal Fund ; Canal 
Board. Sect. 5. The Lieutenant-Governor, Speaker of the Assem- 
bly. Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General 
and State Engineer and Surveyor shall be the commissioners of the 
land office. The Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Comp- 
troller, Treasurer and Attorney-General shall be the commissioners 
of the canal fund. The canal board shall consist of the com- 
missioners of the canal fund, the State Engineer and Surveyor and 
the Superintendent of Public Works. 

Powers and Duties of Boards. Sect. 6. The powers and duties 
of the respective boards, and of the several officers in this article 
mentioned, shall be such as now are or hereafter may be prescribed 
by law. 

State Treasurer; Suspension by Governor. S The Tr< 

urer may be suspended from office by the Governor, during the r< 
of the Legislature, and until thirty days after the commencement of 
the next session of the Legislature, whenever it -hall a; him 

that such Treasurer has, in any particular 1 his duty. The 

• rnor shall appoint a competent p< r the duti 

the office during such suspension of the Treasurer. 

Certain Offices Abolished. - All offices for the weighing, 

gauging, measuring, culling or inspecting any merchandise, produce, 



xxii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

manufacture or commodity whatever, are hereby abolished ; and no 
such office shall hereafter be created by law ; but nothing in this 
section contained shall abrogate any office created for the purpose of 
protecting the public health or the interest of the State in its property, 
revenue, tolls or purchases, or of supplying the people with correct 
standards of weights and measures, or shall prevent the creation of 
any office for such purposes hereafter. 

Civil Service Appointments and Promotions. Sect. q. Appoint- 
ments and promotions in the civil service of the State, and of all the 
civil divisions thereof, including cities and villages, shall be made 
according to merit and fitness to be ascertained so far as practicable, 
by examinations, which, so far as practicable, shall be competitive; 
provided, however, thai honorably discharged soldiers and sailors 
from the army and navy of the United States in the late civil 
war, who are citizens and residents of this State, shall be entitled 
to preference in appointment and promotion, without regard to their 
standing on any list from which such appointment or promotion 
may be made. Laws shall be made to provide for the enforcement 
of this section. 

ARTICLE VI 

Supreme Court; how Constituted; Judicial Districts. Sect, i. 1 
The Supreme Court is continued with general jurisdiction in law and 
equity subject to such appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals 
as now is or may be prescribed by law not inconsistent with this 
article. The existing judicial districts of the State are continued 
until changed as hereinafter provided. The Supreme Court shall 
consist of the justices now in otlice, and of the Judges transferred 
thereto by the fifth section of this article, all of whom shall continue 
to be Justices of the Supreme Court during their respective terms, 
and of twelve additional Justices who shall reside in and be chosen 
by the electors of the several existing judicial districts, three in the 
first district, three in the second, and one in each of the other districts ; 
and of their successors. The successors of said justices shall be chosen 
by the electors of their respective judicial districts. The Legislature 
may alter the judicial districts once after every enumeration under the 
Constitution, of the inhabitants of the State, and thereupon reappor- 
tion the Justices to be thereafter elected in the districts so altered. 

1 As amended November, 1905. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxiii 

The Legislature may from time to time increase the number of 
justices in any judicial district except that the number of justices in 
the first and second district or in any of the districts into which the 
second district may be divided, shall not be increased to exceed one 
justice for each eighty thousand, or fraction over forty thousand of 
the population thereof, as shown by the last State, or Federal census 
or enumeration, and except that the number of justices in any other 
district shall not be increased to exceed one justice for each sixty 
thousand or fraction over thirty-five thousand of the population 
thereof as shown by the last State or Federal census or enumeration. 
The Legislature may erect out of the Second Judicial District as now 
constituted, another judicial district and apportion the justices in 
office between the districts, and provide for the election of additional 
justices in the new district not exceeding the limit herein provided. 

Judicial Departments ; Appellate Division, how Constituted ; Gov- 
ernor to designate Justices ; Reporter ; Time and Place of holding 
Courts. Sect. 2. 1 The Legislature shall divide the State into four 
judicial departments. The first department shall consist of the county 
of New York ; the others shall be bounded by county lines, and be 
compact and equal in population as nearly as may be. Once every 
ten years the Legislature may alter the judicial departments, but 
without increasing the number thereof. There shall be an Appellate 
Division of the Supreme Court, consisting of seven justices in the 
first department, and of five justices in each of the other departments. 
In each department four shall constitute a quorum, and the concur- 
rence of three shall be necessary to a decision. Xo more than live 
justices shall sit in any case. From all the justices elected to the 
Supreme Court the Governor shall designate those who shall consti- 
tute the Appellate Division in each department ; and he shall desig- 
nate the presiding justice thereof, who shall act as such during his 
term of office, and shall be a resident of the department. The other 
justices shall be designated for terms of five years or the unexpired 
portions of their respective terms of office, if less than five years. 
From time to time as the terms of such designations expire, or 
vacancies occur, he shall make new designations. A majority of 
the justices so designated to sit in the Appellate Division, in each 
department shall be residents of the department. He may also 
make temporary designations in case of the absence or inability to 

1 As amended November, 1005. 



xxiv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

act of any justice in the Appellate Division, or in case the presiding 
justice of any Appellate Division shall certify to him that one or 
more additional justices are needed for the speedy disposition of the 
business before it. Whenever the Appellate Division in any depart- 
ment shall be unable to dispose of its business within a reasonable 
time, a majority of the presiding justices of the several departments 
at a meeting called by the presiding justice of the department in 
arrears may transfer any pending appeals from such department 
to any other department for hearing and determination. No justice 
of the Appellate Division shall, within the department to which he 
may be designated to perform the duties of an appellate justice, 
exercise any of the powers of a justice of the Supreme Court, other 
than those of a justice out of court, and those pertaining to the 
Appellate Division, or to the hearing and decision of motions sub- 
mitted by consent of counsel, but any such justice, when not actually 
engaged in performing the duties of such appellate justice in the 
department to which he is designated, may hold any term of the 
Supreme Court and exercise any of the powers of a justice of the 
Supreme Court in any county or judicial district in any other 
department oi the State. From and after the last day of December, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-five, the Appellate Division shall have 
the jurisdiction now exercised by the Supreme Court at its general 
terms and by the general terms of the Court of Common Pleas for 
the city and county of New York, the Superior Court of the city of 
New York, the Superior Court of Buffalo and the city of Brooklyn, 
and such additional jurisdiction as may be conferred by the Legisla- 
ture. It shall have power to appoint and remove a reporter. The 
justices of the Appellate Division in each department shall have 
power to fix the times and places for holding special terms therein, 
and to assign the justices in the departments to hold such terms; 
or to make rules therefor. 

Judge or Justice not to sit in Review ; Testimony in Equity Cases. 
Sect. 3. No Judge or Justice shall sit in the Appellate Division 
or in the Court of Appeals in review of a decision made by him 
or by any court of which he was at the time a sitting member. 
The testimony in equity cases shall be taken in like manner as 
in cases at law ; and, except as herein otherwise provided, the 
Legislature shall have the same power to alter and regulate the 
jurisdiction and proceedings in law and in equity that it has 
heretofore exercised. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxv 

Tenns of Office; Vacancies, how Filled. SECT. 4. The i 

terms of the Ju^ - the Supreme Court shall be fourteen > 
from and including the firs uary next after their ekd 

When a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term in 
the office of Justice of the Supreme Court the same shall be rilled for 
a full term, at the next general election, happening not less than three 
months after such vacancy occurs; and. until the vacancy shall be 
died, the Governor by and with the advice and consent oi the 
S ".ate shall be in session, or if not in session the G 
ernor. may rill such v by appointment, which shall continue 

until and including the last day of December : the ele< 

at which the vacancy shall be rilled. 

City Courts Abolished ; Judges become Justices of Supreme Court ; 
Salaries; Jurisdiction vested in Supreme Court. SECT. 5. The 
Superior Court oi the New York, the Court of Common Plefis 

for the City and I w York, the Superior Court oi Buffalo, 

and the art of Brooklyn, are abolished from and after 

day of January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety 
and thereupon the seals, records, papers and documents oi or belong- 
ing to such courts, shall be deposited in the ol the clerk 
the several counties in which said courts now exist ; and all act 
and proceedings then pending in such courts shall be transfers 
the Supreme Court for hearing and determination. The pi 
said courts in office on the first day of January, one thousand I 
hundred and ninety-six, shall, for the remainder oi the terms for 
which they were elected or appointed, be Justices of the Sup: 
Court ; but they shall sit only in the counties in which they 
elected or appointed. Their salaries shall be paid by the said c 

■ely. and shall be the same as the sal s 
Justices of the Supreme Court residing in the same countu & Their 
successors shall be elected as Justi es of th S the 

tors of the judicial districts in which they respectively reside. 

The jurisdiction now exercised by the several courts hi 
abolished, shall 1 Supreme ( in- 

ferior and local courts now heard in the Court of Common 1 
the City and County York and the Superior I 

shall be heard in the Supreme Court manner and 

Justice or Justices as the Appell trt- 

ments which inch] York and Buffalo shall direct, unless other- 

provided by the I 



xxvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Circuit Courts and Courts of Oyer and Terminer Abolished. 
Sect. 6. Circuit Courts and Courts of Oyer and Terminer are 
abolished from and after the last day of December, one thousand 
eight hundred and ninety-five. All their jurisdiction shall thereupon 
be vested in the Supreme Court, and all actions and proceedings then 
pending in such courts shall be transferred to the Supreme Court 
for hearing and determination. Any Justice of the Supreme Court, 
except as otherwise provided in this article, may hold court in any 
county. 

Court of Appeals. Sixt. 7. 1 The Court of Appeals is continued. 
It shall consist of the chief judge and associate judges now in office, 
who shall hold their offices until the expiration of their respective 
terms, and their successors, who shall be chosen by the electors of 
the State. The official terms of the chief judge and associate ju 
shall be fourteen years from and including the first day o\ January 
next after their election. Five members of the court shall form a 
quorum, and the concurrence of four shall be necessary to a decision. 
The court shall have power to appoint and to remove its reporter, 
clerk and attendants. Whenever and as often as a majority of the 
judges of the Court of Appeals shall certify to the Governor that 
said court is unable, by reason of the accumulation o\ causes pending 
therein, to hear and dispose of the same with reasonable speed, the 
Governor shall designate not more than four justices of the Supreme 
Court to serve as associate judges of Court of Appeals. The ju> 
so designated shall be relieved from their duties as justices of the 
Supreme Court and shall serve as associate judges of the Court of 
Appeals until the causes undisposed of in said court are reduced to 
two hundred, when they shall return to the Supreme Court. The 
Governor may designate justices of the Supreme Court to fill vacan- 
cies. No justice shall serve as associate judge of the Court of Appeals 
except while holding the office of Justice of the Supreme Court, and 
no more than seven judges shall sit in any case. 

Vacancy in Court of Appeals, how Filled. Sect. 8. When a 
vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, in the 
office of Chief or Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals, the same 
shall be filled, for a full term, at the next general election happening 
not less than three months after such vacancy occurs ; and until the 
vacancy shall be so filled, the Governor, by and with the advice and 

1 As amended November, 1899. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxvii 

consent of the Senate, if the Senate shall be in session or if not in 
session the Governor, may till such vacancy by appointment. If any 
such appointment of Chief Judge shall be made from among the 
Associate Judges, a temporary appointment oi Associate Judge shall 
be made in like manner; but in such case the person appointed 
Chief Judge shall not be deemed to vacate his office of Associate 
Judge any longer than until the expiration of his appointment as 
Chief Judge. The powers and jurisdiction of the court shall not be 
suspended for want of appointment or election, when the number 
of Judges is sufficient to constitute a quorum. All appointments 
under this section shall continue until and including the last day of 
December next after the election at which the vacancy shall be tilled. 

Jurisdiction of Court of Appeals. Sect. 9. After the last day 
of December, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, the juris- 
diction of the Court of Appeals, except where the judgment is of 
death, shall be limited to the review of questions of law. No unani- 
mous decision of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that 
there is evidence supporting or tending to sustain a finding of fact or 
a verdict not directed by the court, shall be reviewed by the Court 
of Appeals. Except where the judgment is of death, appeals may 
be taken, as a right, to said court only from judgments or orders 
entered upon decisions of the Appellate Division of the Supreme 
Court, finally determining actions or special proceedings, and from 
orders granting new trials on exceptions, where the appellants stipu- 
late that upon affirmance judgment absolute shall be rendered against 
them. The Appellate Division in any department may, however, 
allow an appeal upon any question of law which, in its opinion, ought 
to be reviewed by the Court of Appeals. 

The Legislature may further restrict the jurisdiction of the Court 
of Appeals and the right of appeal thereto, but the right to appeal 
shall not depend upon the amount involved. 

The provisions of this section shall not apply to orders made or 
judgments rendered by any General Term before the last day of 
December, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, but appeals 
therefrom may be taken under existing provisions of law. 

Judges not to hold any Other Office. Sic r. 10. The Judges of the 
Court of Appeals and the Justices of the Supreme Court shall not 
hold any other office or public trust. All votes for any of them, for 
any other than a judicial of 11 by tl lature or the 

people, shall be void. 



xxviii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Removal of Judges. Sect. ii. Judges of the Court of Appeals 
and Justices of the Supreme Court may be removed by concurrent 
resolution of both houses of the Legislature, if two-thirds of all the 
members elected to each house concur therein. All other judicial 
officers, except justices of the peace and judges or justices of inferior 
courts not of record, may be removed by the Senate, on the recom- 
mendation of the Governor, if two-thirds of all the members elected 
to the Senate concur therein. But no officer shall be removed by 
virtue of this section except for cause, which shall be entered on the 
journals, nor unless he shall have been served with a statement of 
the cause alleged, and shall have had an opportunity to be heard. 
On the question of removal, the yeas and nays shall be entered on 
the journal. 

Compensation ; Age Restriction ; Assignment by Governor. 
Sect. 12. l No person shall hold the office of Judge or Justice of any 
court longer than until and including the last day of December next 
after he shall be seventy years of age. Each Justice of the Supreme 
Court shall receive from the State the sum of ten thousand dollars 
per year. Those assigned to the Appellate Divisions in the third 
and fourth departments shall each receive in addition the sum of 
two thousand dollars, and the Presiding Justices thereof the sum 
of two thousand five hundred dollars per year. Those Jusi 
elected in the first and second judicial departments shall continue 
to receive from their respective cities, counties, or districts as now 
provided by law, such additional compensation as will make their 
aggregate compensation what they are now receiving. Those Jus- 
tices elected in any judicial department other than the first or second, 
and assigned to the Appellate Divisions of the first or second depart- 
ments shall, while so assigned, receive from those departments re- 
spectively, as now provided by law, such additional sum as is paid 
to the Justices of those departments. A Justice elected in the third 
or fourth department assigned by the Appellate Division or desig- 
nated by the Governor to hold a trial or special term in a judicial 
district other than that in which he is elected shall receive in addi- 
tion ten dollars per day for expenses while actually so engaged in 
holding such term, which shall be paid by the State and charged 
upon the judicial district where the service is rendered. The com- 
pensation herein provided shall be in lieu of and shall exclude all 

1 As amended November, 1909. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxix 

other compensation and allowance to said Justices for expenses of 
ry kind and nature whatsoever. The provisions oi this section 
shall apply to the Judges and Justices now in office and to ti 
hereafter elected. 

Trial of Impeachments. SECT. 13. The Assembly shall have the 
power of impeachment, by a vote of a majority of all the members 
elected. The court for the trial of impeachments shall be composed 
of the President of the Senate, the Senators, or the major part of 
them, and the Judges of the Court of Appeals, or the major part 
of them. On the trial of an impeachment against the Governor or 
Lieutenant-Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall not act as a 
member of the court. Xo judicial officer shall exercise his office, 
after articles of impeachment against him shall have been preferred 
to the Senate, until he shall have been acquitted. Before the trial 
of an impeachment the members of the court shall take an oath or 
affirmation truly and impartially to try the impeachment according 
to the evidence, and no person shall be convicted without the con- 
currence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cas - 
of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, 
or removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
office of honor, trust or profit under this State ; but the party im- 
peached shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to 
law. 

County Courts. Sect. 14. ■ The existing County Courts are con- 
tinued, and the Judges thereof now in office shall hold their offices 
until the expiration of their respective terms. The number of county 
judges in any county may also be increased, from time to time, by 
the legislature, to such number that the total number of county 
judges in any one county shall not exceed one for every two hundred 
thousand, or major fraction thereof, of the population of such county. 
The additional county judges in the county of Kings shall be chosen 
at the general election held in the first odd-numbered year after the 
adoption of this amendment. The additional county i 
offices may be created by the legislature shall be chosen at the general 
election held in the first odd-numbered year after th< such 

office. All county judges, including successors to 
shall be chosen by the electors of the counties for the term o ; 
years from and including the first da ] Hilary following their 

1 As amended November, 1913. 



xxx ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

election. County Courts shall have the powers and jurisdiction they 
now possess, and also original jurisdiction in actions for the recovery 
of money only, where the defendants reside in the county, and in 
which the complaint demands judgment for a sum not exceeding two 
thousand dollars. The Legislature may hereafter enlarge or restrict 
the jurisdiction of the County Courts, provided, however, that their 
jurisdiction shall not be so extended as to authorize an action therein 
for the recovery of money only, in which the sum demanded exceeds 
two thousand dollars, or in which any person not a resident of the 
county is a defendant. 

Courts of Sessions, except in the county of New York, are abolished 
from and after the last day of December, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and ninety-live. All the jurisdiction of the Court of Sessions 
in each county, except the county of New York, shall thereupon be 
vested in the County Court thereof, and all actions and proceedings 
then pending in such Courts of Sessions shall be transferred to said 
County Courts for hearing and determination. Every County 
Judge shall perform such duties as may be required by law. His 
salary shall be established by law, payable out of the county treasury. 
A County Judge of any county may hold County Courts in any 
other county when requested by the judge of such other county. 

Surrogates' Courts; Surrogates, their Powers and Jurisdiction; 
Vacancies. Sect. 15. The existing Surrogates' Courts are continued, 
and the Surrogates now in office shall hold their offices until the ex- 
piration of their terms. Their successors shall be chosen by the 
electors of their respective counties, and their terms of office shall 
be six years, except in the county of New York, where they shall 
continue to be fourteen years. Surrogates and Surrogates' Courts 
shall have the jurisdiction and powers which the Surrogates and 
existing Surrogates' Courts now possess, until otherwise provided by 
the Legislature. The County Judge shall be Surrogate of his county, 
except where a separate Surrogate has been or shall be elected. In 
counties having a population exceeding forty thousand, wherein 
there is no separate Surrogate, the Legislature may provide for the 
election of a separate officer to be Surrogate, whose term of office 
shall be six years. When the Surrogate shall be elected as a separate 
officer his salary shall be established by law, payable out of the 
county treasury. No County Judge or Surrogate shall hold office 
longer than until and including the last day of December next after 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxxi 

he shall be seventy years of age. Vacancies occurring in the office of 
County Judge or Surrogate shall be filled in the same manner as like 
vacancies occurring in the Supreme Court. The compensation of 
any County Judge or Surrogate shall not be increased or diminished 
during his term of office. For the relief of Surrogates' Courts the 

::>lature may confer upon the Supreme Court in any County 
having a population exceeding four hundred thousand, the powers 
and jurisdiction oi Surrogates, with authority to try issues of fact 
by jury in probate cases. 

Local Judicial Officers. Sect. 16. The Legislature may, on appli- 
cation of the board of supervisors, provide for the election of local 
officers, not to exceed two in any county, to discharge the duties of 
County Judge and of Surrogate, in cases of their inability or of a 
vacancy, and in such other cases as may be provided by law, and to 
exercise such other powers in special cases as are or maybe provided 
by law. 

Justices of the Peace; District Court Justices. Sect. 17. The 
electors of the several towns shall, at their annual town meetings, or 
at such other time and in such manner as the Legislature may direct, 
elect Justices of the Peace, whose term of office shall be four years. 
In case of an election to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira- 
tion of a full term, they shall hold for the residue of the unexpired 
term. Their number and classification may be regulated by law. 
Justices of the Peace and judges or justices of inferior courts not of 
record, and their clerks, may be removed for cause, after due notice 
and an opportunity of being heard by such courts as are or may be 
prescribed by law. Justices of the Peace and District Court Jus- 
tices may be elected in the different cities of this State in such man- 
ner and with such powers, and for such terms, respectively, as are 
or shall be prescribed by law; all other judicial officers in cities, 
whose election or appointment is not otherwise provided for in this 
article, shall be chosen by the electors of such cities, or appointed by 
some local authorities thereof. 

Inferior Local Courts. Sect. 18. Inferior local i civil and 

criminal jurisdiction, may be established by the Legislature, but no 
inferior local court, hereafter created shall be a court of record. 
The Legislature shall not hereafter confer upon any inferior or local 
court of its creation, any equity jurisdiction or any greater jurisdic- 
tion in other a than is conferred upon County Courts by or 



xxxii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

under this article. Except as herein otherwise provided, all judicial 
officers shall be elected or appointed at such times and in such man- 
ner as the Legislature may direct. 

Clerks of Courts. Sect. 19. Clerks of the several counties shall 
be clerks of the Supreme Court, with such powers and duties as shall 
be prescribed by law. The Justices of the Appellate Division in 
each department shall have power to appoint and to remove a clerk, 
who shall keep his office at a place to be designated by said Justi 
The Clerk of the Court of Appeals shall keep his office at the - 
of government. The Clerk of the Court of Appeals and the Clerks 
of the Appellate Division shall receive compensation to be estab- 
lished by law and paid out of the public treasury. 

No Judicial Officer, except Justice of the Peace, to Receive Fees; 
not to act as Attorney or Counselor. SECT. 20. Xo judicial officer, 
except Justices of the Peace, shall receive to his own use any fet a 
perquisites of office; nor shall any Judge of the Court of Appeals, 
or Justice of the Supreme Court, or any County Judge or Surrogate 
hereafter elected in a county having a population exceeding one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand, practice as an attorney or counselor in 
any court of record of this State, or act as referee. The Legislature 
may impose a similar prohibition upon County Judges and Surro- 
gates in other counties. Xo one shall he eligible to the offio 
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Justice of the Supreme Court, or, 
except in the county of Hamilton, to the office of County Judge or 
Surrogate, who is not an attorney and counselor of this State. 

Publication of Statutes. Sect. 21. The Legislature shall provide 
for the speedy publication of all statutes, and shall regulate the 
reporting of the decisions of the courts; hut all laws and judicial 
decisions shall be free for publication by any person. 

Terms of Office of Present Justices of the Peace and Local Judicial 
Officers. Sect. 22. Justices of the Peace and other local judicial 
officers provided for in sections seventeen and eighteen in office when 
this article takes effect, shall hold their offices until the expiration of 
their respective terms. 

Courts of Special Sessions. Sect. 23. Courts of Special Sessions 
shall have such jurisdiction of offenses of the grade of misdemeanors 
as may be prescribed by law. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxxiii 



ARTICLE VII 

State Credit not to be Given. Sect. i. The credit oi the Stair 
shall not in any manner be given or loaned to or in aid oi any indi- 
vidual, association or corporation. 

State Debts. Power to Contract. SECT. 2. The State may. to 
meet casual deficits or failures in revenues, or for expenses not pro 
vided tor. contract debts; but such debts, direct or contingent, 
singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed one million 
oi dollars; and the moneys arising from the loans creating such 
debts shall be applied to the purpose for which they were obtained 
or to repay the debt so contracted, and to no other purpose whatever. 

State Debts to Repel Invasions. Sect. 3. In addition to the 
above limited power to contract debts, the State may contract d< 
to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in war; 
but the money arising from the contracting of such debts shall be 
applied to the purpose for which it was raised, or to repay such debts. 
and to no other purpose whatever. 

Limitation of Legislative Power to create Debts. Sect. 4. 1 Except 
the debts specified in sections two and three of this article, no debts 
shall be hereafter contracted by or in behalf of this State, unless such 
debt shall be authorized by law. for some single work or object, to 
be distinctly specified therein ; and such law shall impose and provide 
for the collection of a direct annual tax to pay, and sufficient to paw 
the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge 
the principal of such debt within fifty years from the time of the 
contracting thereof. No such law shall take effect until it shall, at 
a general election, have been submitted to the people, and haw 

r ed a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such 
election. On the final passage of such bill in either house of the 
Legislature, the question shall be taken by ayes and noes, to be duly 
entered on the journals thereof, and shall be: " Shall this bill p 
and ought the same to receive the sanction of the people? " The 
I- gislature may at any time after the approval of such law by the 
if no debt shall have been contracted in pursuance thereof. 
repeal the same; and may at any time, by law. forbid the contr 
ing of any further debt or liability under such law; but the tax 

1 A- amended November, 1909. 



xxxiv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

imposed by such act, in proportion to the debt and liability which 
may have been contracted in pursuance of such law, shall remain in 
force and be irrepealable, and be annually collected, until the pro- 
ceeds thereof shall have made the provision hereinbefore specified to 
pay and discharge the interest and principal of such debt and liability. 
The money arising from any loan or stock creating such debt or 
liability shall be applied to the work or object specified in the act 
authorizing such debt or liability, or for the payment of such debt 
or liability, and for no other purpose whatever. No such law shall 
be submitted to be voted on within three months after its passage 
or at any general election when any other law, or any bill shall be 
submitted to be voted for or against. The Legislature may provide 
for the issue of bonds of the Stale to run for a period not exceeding 
fifty years in lieu of bonds heretofore authorized but not issued and 
shall impose and provide for the collection of a direct annual tax 
for the payment of the same as hereinbefore required. When any 
sinking fund created under this section shall equal in amount the debt 
for which it was created, no further direct tax shall be levied on 
account of said sinking fund, and the Legislature shall reduce the 
tax to an amount equal to the accruing interest on such debt. The 
Legislature may from time to time alter the rate of interest to be paid 
upon any State debt, which has been or may be authorized pursu- 
ant to the provisions of this section, or upon any pari of such debt, 
provided, however, that the rate of interest shall not be altered upon 
any part of such debt or upon any bond or other evidence thereof, 
which has been, or shall be created or issued before such alteration. 
In case the Legislature increase the rate of interest upon any such 
debt, or part thereof, it shall impose and provide for the collection 
of a direct annual tax to pay and sufficient to pay the increased or 
altered interest on such debt as it falls due and also to pay and dis- 
charge the principal of such debt within fifty years from the time of 
the contracting thereof, and shall appropriate annually to the sink- 
ing fund moneys in amount sufficient to pay such interest and pay 
and discharge the principal of such debt when it shall become due 
and payable. 

Sinking Fund, how Kept and Invested. Sect. 5. The sinking 
funds provided for the payment of interest and the extinguishment 
of the principal of the debts of the State shall be separately kept and 
safely invested, and neither of them shall be appropriated or used in 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxxv 

any manner other than for the specific purpose for which it shall have 
been provided. 

Claims barred by Statute of Limitations. Sect. 6. Neither the 
Legislature, canal board, nor any person or persons acting in behalf 
of the State, shall audit, allow, or pay any claim which, as between 
citizens oi the State, would be barred by lapse of time. This provi- 
sion shall not be construed to repeal any statute fixing the time within 
which claims shall be presented or allowed, nor shall it extend to 
any claims duly presented within the time allowed by law, and prose- 
cuted with due diligence from the time of such presentment. But 
if the claimant shall be under legal disability, the claim may be pre- 
sented within two years after such disability is removed. 

Forest Preserve. Sect. 7. 1 The lands of the State, now owned 
or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed 
by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not 
be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, pub- 
lic or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or de- 
stroyed. But the legislature may by general laws provide for the 
use of not exceeding three per centum of such lands for the construc- 
tion and maintenance of reservoirs for municipal water supply, for 
the canals of the state and to regulate the flow of streams. Such 
reservoirs shall be constructed, owned and controlled by the state, 
but such work shall not be undertaken until after the boundaries 
and high flow lines thereof shall have been accurately surveyed and 
fixed, and after public notice, hearing and determination that such 
lands are required for such public use. The expense of any such 
improvements shall be apportioned on the public and private property 
and municipalities benefited to the extent of the benefits received. 
Any such reservoir shall always be operated by the stale and the 
legislature shall provide for a charge upon the property and munici- 
palities benefited for a reasonable return to the state upon the value 
of the rights and property of the state used and the services of the 
state rendered, which shall be fixed for terms of not exceeding ten 
years and be readjustable at the end of any term. Unsanitary con- 
ditions shall not be created or continued by any such public works. 
A violation of any of the provisions of this section may be restrained 
at the suit of the people or, with the consent of the Supreme Court 

1 As amended November, 1913. 



xxxvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF XEW YORK 

in Appellate Division on notice to the Attorney-General at the suit 
of any citizen. 

Canals, not to be Sold; not applied to Certain Canals; Disposition 
of Funds. Sect. 8. The legislature shall not sell, lease or otherwise 
dispose of the Erie canal, the Oswego canal, the Champlain canal, 
the Cayuga and Seneca canal, or the Black River canal; but they 
shall remain the property of the State and under its management 
forever. The prohibition of lease, sale or other disposition herein 
contained, shall not apply to the canal known as the Main and 
Hamburg street canal, situated in the city of Buffalo, and which 
extends easterly from the westerly line of Main street to the westerly 
line of Hamburg street. All funds that may be derived from any 
lease, sale or other disposition of any canal shall be applied to the 
improvement, superintendence or repair of the remaining portion 
of the canals. 

No Tolls to be Imposed; Contracts for Work and Materials; no 
Extra Compensation. SECT. o. No tolls shall hereafter be imposed 
on persons or property transported on the canals, but all boats navi- 
gating the canals and the owners and masters thereof, shall be sub- 
ject to such laws and regulations as have been or may hereafter be 
enacted concerning the navigation of the canals. 'Idle Legislature 
shall annually, by equitable taxes, make provision for the exp< 
of the superintendence and repairs of the canals. All contracts for 
work or materials on any canal shall be made with the persons who 
shall offer to do or provide the same at the lowest price, with ade- 
quate security for their performance. No extra compensation shall 
be made to any contractor; but if, from any unforeseen cause, the 
terms of any contract shall prove to be unjust and oppressive, the 
canal board may, upon the application of the contractor, cancel such 
contract. 

Canal Improvement, and Cost thereof. Sect. io. The canals 
may be improved in such manner as the Legislature shall provide by 
law. A debt may be authorized for that purpose in the mode pre- 
scribed by section four of this article, or the cost of such improve- 
ment may be defrayed by the appropriation of funds from the State 
treasury, or by equitable annual tax. 

Payment of State Debts. Sect, ii. 1 The Legislature may ap- 
propriate out of any funds in the treasury, moneys to pay the accru- 

1 As adopted November 1905 ; in effect January, 1906. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxxvii 

ing interest and principal of any debt heretofore OI hereafter created, 
or any part thereof and may set apart in each fiscal year, moneys in 
the State treasury as a sinking fund to pay the interest as it icdls 
due and to pay and discharge the principal oi any debt heretofore 
or hereafter created under section four oi article seven of the consti- 
tution until the same shall be wholly paid, and the principal and 
income of such sinking fund shall be applied to the purpose for which 
said sinking fund is created and to no other purpose whatever; and, 
in the event such moneys so set apart in any fiscal year be sufficient 
to provide such sinking fund, a direct annual tax for such year need 
not be imposed and collected, as required by the provisions of said 
section four of article -seven, or of any law enacted in pursuance 
thereof. 

Improvement of Highways. Sect. 12. 1 A debt or debts of the 
State may be authorized by law for the improvement of highways. 
Such highways shall be determined under general laws, which shall 
also provide for the equitable apportionment thereof among the coun- 
ties. The aggregate of the debts authorized by this section shall not 
at any one time exceed the sum of fifty millions of dollars. The pay- 
ment of the annual interest on such debt and the creation of a sinking 
fund of at least two per centum per annum to discharge the prin- 
cipal at maturity shall be provided by general laws whose force and 
effect shall not be diminished during the existence of any debt created 
thereunder. The Legislature may by general laws require the 
county or town or both to pay to the sinking fund the proportionate 
part of the cost of any such highway within the boundaries of such 
county or town and the proportionate part of the interest thereon. 
but no county shall at any time for any highway be required to pay 
more than thirty-five hundredths of the cost of such highway, and 
no town more than fifteen hundredths. Xone of the provisions of 
the fourth section of this article shall apply to debts for the impn. 
ment of highways hereby authorized. 

ARTICLE VIII 

Corporations, Formation of. Sect. i. Corporations may be formed 
under general laws; but shall noi be created by special act, except 
for municipal pur nd in cases where, in the judgment of the 



xxxviii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Legislature, the objects of the corporation cannot be attained under 
general laws. All general laws and special acts passed pursuant to 
this section may be altered from time to time or repealed. 

Dues of Corporations. Sect. 2. Dues from corporations shall be 
secured by such individual liability of the corporators and other 
means as may be prescribed by law. 

Corporation, Definition of Term. Sect. 3. The term corporations 
as used in this article shall be construed to include all associations 
and joint-stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of 
corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all 
corporations shall have the right to sue and shall be subject to be 
sued in all courts in like cases as natural persons. 

Savings Bank Charters ; Restrictions upon Trustees ; Special Char- 
ters not to be granted. Sect. 4. The Legislature shall, by general 
law, conform all charters of savings banks, or institutions for savings, 
to a uniformity of powers, rights and liabilities, and all charters here- 
after granted for such corporations shall be made to conform to such 
general law, and to such amendments as may be made thereto. And 
no such corporation shall have any capital stock, nor shall the trustees 
thereof, or any of them, have any interest whatever, direct or in- 
direct, in the profits of such corporation ; and no director or trilfl 
of any such bank or institution shall be interested in any loan or 
use of any money or property of such bank or institution for savings. 
The Legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting any 
special charter for banking purposes; but corporations or associa- 
tions may be formed for such purposes under general laws. 

Specie Payment. Sect. 5. The Legislature shall have no power 
to pass any law sanctioning in any manner, directly or indirectly, 
the suspension of specie payments, by any person, association or 
corporation, issuing bank notes of any description. 

Registry of Bills or Notes. Sect. 6. The Legislature shall pro- 
vide by law for the registry of all bills or notes, issued or put in cir- 
culation as money, and shall require ample security for the redemption 
of the same in specie. 

Liability of Stockholders of Banks. Sect. 7. The stockholders of 
every corporation and joint-stock association for banking purposes, 
shall be individually responsible to the amount of their respective 
share or shares of stock in any such corporation or association, for 
all its debts and liabilities of every kind. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xxxix 

Billholders of Insolvent Bank. Preferred Creditors. Si CT, B. In 
case of the insolvency of any bank or banking association, the bill- 
holders thereof shall be entitled to pi\ ent, over all 
other creditors of such bank or association. 

Credit or Money of the State not to be given S N her 

the credit nor the money of th S shall be given or loaned to or 

in aid of any ss oration or private undertaking. This 

section shall not. however, prevent the re from making such 

provision for the education and support of the blind, t) and 

dumb, and juvenile delinquents, as to it may seem proper. \ 
shall it apply to any fund or property now held, or which may hi 
be held, by the State for educational purp< - - 

Limitation of Indebtedness of Counties. Cities. Towns and Villages ; 
Exception as to City of New York. Sect, io. 1 Xo county. 
town or village shall hereafter give any money or property, or loan its 
money or credit to or in aid of any individual, association or corpora- 
tion, or become directly or indirectly the owner of stock in. or bonds 
of. any association or corporation: nor shall any such county. 
town or village be allowed to incur any indebtedness except for county, 
city, town or village purposes. This section shall not prevent such 
county, city, town or village from making such provision for the aid 
or support of its poor as may be authorized by law. Xo county or 
shall be allowed to become indebted for any purpose or in any 
manner to an amount which, including existing indebtedness, shall 
exceed ten per centum of the assessed valuation of the real i 
such county or city subject to taxation, as it appeared by th saesfl 
ment rolls of said county or city on the last assessment for State 
or county taxes prior to the incurring of such indebtedness; and all 
indebtedness in excess of such limitation, except such as now may 
\ shall be absolutely void, except as herein otherwise provided, 
ounty or city whose present indebtedm— - :um 

of the assessed valuation of its real estate subject to Uu -hall 

be allowed to become indebted in any further amount until - 
indebtedness shall be reduced within such limit. -hall 

not be construed to prevent the issuing of i ::iess 

or revenue bonds issued in anticipation of the collect inn of 
amounts actually contained, or to be contained in the 

r when such certificates or re issued and payable 

J amended November, 1909. 



xl ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

out of such taxes ; nor to prevent the city of New York from issuing 
bonds to be redeemed out of the tax levy for the year next succeeding 
the year of their issue, provided that the amount of such bonds 
which may be issued in any one year in excess of the limitations 
herein contained shall not exceed one-tenth of one per centum of the 
assessed valuation of the real estate of said city subject to taxation. 
Nor shall this section be construed to prevent the issue of bonds to 
provide for the supply of water; but the term of the bonds issued 
to provide the supply of water, in excess of the limitation of in- 
debtedness fixed herein, shall not exceed twenty years, and a sink- 
ing fund shall be created on the issuing of the said bonds for their 
redemption, by raising annually a sum which will produce an amount 
equal to the sum of the principal and interest of said bonds at their 
maturity. All certificates of indebtedness or revenue bonds issued 
in anticipation of the collection of taxes, which are not retired within 
five years after their date of issue, and bonds issued to provide for 
the supply of water, and any debt hereafter incurred by any portion 
or part of a city if there shall be any such debt, shall be included 
in ascertaining, the power of the city to become otherwise indebted; 
except that debts incurred by the city of New York after the first 
day of January, nineteen hundred and four, and debts incurred by 
any city of the second class after the first day of January, nineteen 
hundred and eight, and debts incurred by any city of the third ( 
after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and ten, to provide 
for the supply of water, shall not be so included ; and except further 
that any debt hereafter incurred by the city of New York for a pub- 
lic improvement owned or to be owned by the city, which yields to 
the city current net revenue, after making any necessary allowance 
for repairs and maintenance for which the city is liable, in excess of 
the interest on said debt and of the annual instalments necessary 
for its amortization may be excluded in ascertaining the power of 
said city to become otherwise indebted, provided that a sinking fund 
for its amortization shall have been established and maintained and 
that the indebtedness shall not be so excluded during any period of 
time when the revenue aforesaid shall not be sufficient to equal the 
said interest and amortization instalments, and except further that 
any indebtedness heretofore incurred by the city of New York for 
any rapid transit or dock investment may be so excluded propor- 
tionately to the extent to which the current net revenue received by 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xli 

said city therefrom shall meet the interest and amortization instal- 
ments thereof, provided that any increase in the debt incurring 
power oi the city oi New York which shall result from the exclusion 
of debts heretofore incurred shall be available only for the acquisition 
or construction oi properties to be used for rapid transit or dock pur- 
poses. The Legislature shall prescribe the method by which and the 
terms and conditions under which the amount of any debt to be so 
excluded shall be determined, and no such debt shall be excluded 
except in accordance with the determination so prescribed. The 
Legislature may in its discretion confer appropriate jurisdiction on 
the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial 
department for the purpose o\ determining the amount of any debt 
to be so excluded. Xo indebtedness of a city valid at the time of its 
inception shall thereafter become invalid by reason of the operation 
of any of the provisions of this section. Whenever the boundaries 
of any city are the same as those of a county, or when any city shall 
include within its boundaries more than one county, the power of 
any county wholly included within such city to become indebted 
shall cease, but the debt of the county, heretofore existing, shall not, 
for the purposes of this section, be reckoned as a part of the city 
debt. The amount hereafter to be raised by tax for county or city 
purposes, in any county containing a city of over one hundred thou- 
sand inhabitants, or any such city of this State, in addition to provid- 
ing for the principal and interest of existing debt, shall not in t he aggre- 
gate exceed in any one year two per centum of the assessed valuation 
of the real and personal estate of such county or city, to be ascer- 
tained as prescribed in this section in respect to county or city debt. 
State Board of Charities ; State Commission t in Lunacy ; State Com- 
mission of Prisons. Sect. ii. The Legislature shall provide for a 
state board of charities, which shall visit and inspect all institutions, 
whether state, county, municipal, incorporated or not incorporated, 
which are of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory 
character, excepting only such institutions as are hereby made sub- 
ject to the visitation and inspection of either of the commissions, 
hereinafter mentioned, but including all reformatories except those 
in which adult males convicted of felony shall be confined; a state 
commission in lunacy which shall visit and inspect all institutions, 
either public or private, used for the (are and treatment of the 
insane (not including institutions for epileptics or idiots); a state 



xlii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

commission of prisons which shall visit and inspect all institutions 
used for the detention of sane adults charged with or convicted of 
crime, or detained as witnesses or debtors. 

Boards Appointed by Governor. Sect. 12. The members of the 
said board and of the said commissions shall be appointed by the 
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and 
any member may be removed from office by the Governor for cause, 
an opportunity having been given him to be heard in his defense. 

Existing Laws to remain in Force. Sect. 13. Existing laws relat- 
ing to institutions referred to in the foregoing sections and to their 
supervision and inspection, in so far as such laws are not inconsist- 
ent with the provisions of the Constitution, shall remain in force 
until amended or repealed by the Legislature. The visitation and 
inspection herein provided for shall not be exclusive of other 
visitation and inspection now authorized by law. 

Maintenance and Support of Inmates of Charitable Institutions. 
Sect. 14. Nothing in this Constitution contained shall prevent the 
Legislature from making such provision for the education and sup- 
port of the blind, the deaf and dumb, and juvenile delinquents, as to 
it may seem proper; or prevent any county, city, town or village 
from providing for the care, support, maintenance and secular educa- 
tion of inmates of orphan asylums, homes for dependent children or 
correctional institutions, whether under public or private control. 
Payments by counties, cities, towns and villages to charitable, elee- 
mosynary, correctional and reformatory institutions, wholly or 
partly under private control, for care, support and maintenance, 
may be authorized, but shall not be required by the Legislature. 
No such payments shall be made for any inmate of such institutions 
who is not received and retained therein pursuant to rules estab- 
lished by the state board of charities. Such rules shall be subject 
to the control of the Legislature by general laws. 

Commissioners continued in Office. Sect. 15. Commissioners 
of the state board of charities and commissioners of the state com- 
mission in lunacy, now holding office, shall be continued in office for 
the term for which they were appointed, respectively, unless the 
Legislature shall otherwise provide. The Legislature may confer 
upon the commissions and upon the board mentioned in the fore- 
going sections any additional powers that are not inconsistent with 
other provisions of the Constitution. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xliii 



ARTICLE IX 

Common Schools. Sect. i. The Legislature shall provide for 
the maintenance and support of a system of free common schools, 
wherein all the children oi this Slate may be educated. 

Regents of the University. Sect. 2. The corporation created in 
the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, under the 
name oi The Regents oi the University of the State oi New York, 
is hereby continued under the name of The University of the State 
of New York. It shall be governed and its corporate powers, which 
may be increased, modified or diminished by the Legislature, shall 
be exercised by not less than nine regents. 

Common School, Literature and the United States Deposit Funds. 
Sect. 3. The capital of the common school fund, the capital of the 
literature fund, and the capital of the United States deposit fund, 
shall be respectively preserved inviolate. The revenue of the said 
common school fund shall be applied to the support of common 
schools ; the revenue of the said literature fund shall be applied to 
the support of academies; and the sum of twenty-five thousand 
dollars of the revenues of the United States deposit fund shall cadi 
year be appropriated to and made part of the capital of the said 
common school fund. 

No Aid in Denominational Schools. Sect. 4. Neither the State 
nor any subdivision thereof, shall use its property or credit or any 
public money or authorize or permit either to be used, directly or 
indirectly, in aid or maintenance, other than for examination or 
inspection, of any school or institution of learning wholly or in part 
under the control or direction of any religious denomination, or in 
which any denominational tenet or doctrine is taught. 

ARTICLE X 

Sheriffs, Clerks of Counties, District Attorneys and Registers; 
Governor may remove. Sect. i. Sheriffs, clerks of counties, district 
attorneys and registers in counties having register-, shall be chosen 
by the electors of the respective counties, once in every three years 
and as vacancies shall happen, except in the counties of 

Xew York and Kings, and in COUnti < boundaries are the 

same as those of a city, where such officers shall be chosen by the 



xliv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

electors once in every two or four years as the Legislature shall direct. 
Sheriffs shall hold no other office and be ineligible for the next term 
after the termination of their offices. They may be required by law 
to renew their security, from time to time ; and in default of giving 
such new security, their offices shall be deemed vacant. But the 
county shall never be made responsible for the acts of the sheriff. 
The Governor may remove any officer, in this section mentioned, 
within the term for which he shall have been elected ; giving to such 
officer a copy of the charges against him. and an opportunity of being 
heard in his defense. 

Appointment or Election of Officers, not provided for by this Con- 
stitution. Sect. 2. All county officers whose election or appoint- 
ment is not provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by 
the electors of the respective counties or appointed by the boards of 
supervisors, or other county authorities, as the Legislature shall 
direct. All city, town and village officers, whose election or appoint- 
ment is no! provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by 
the electors of such cities, towns and villages, or of some divi- 
sion thereof, or appointed by such authorities thereof, as the L< 

lature shall designate for that purpose. All other officers, whose 
election or appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, 
and all officers, whose offices may hereafter be created by law, 

shall be elected by the people, or appointed, as the Legislature 
may direct. 

Duration of Term. SECT. 3. When the duration of any offio 

not provided by this Constitution it may be declared by law, and if 
not so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the 

authority making the appointment. 

Time of Election. Sect. 4. The time of electing all officers named 
in this article shall be prescribed by law. 

Vacancies in Offices ; how Filled. Sect. 5. The Legislature shall 
provide for filling vacancies in office, and in case of elective officers, 
no person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold his office by virtue 
of such appointment longer than the commencement of the political 
year next succeeding the first annual election after the happening of 
the vacancy. 

Political Year. Sect. 6. The political year and legislative term 
shall begin on the first day of January; and the Legislature shall, 
every year, assemble on the first Wednesday in January. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xlv 

Removal from Office for Misconduct, etc. SECT. 7. Provision 
shall be made by law for the removal for misconduct or malversation 
in office oi all officers, except judicial, whose powers and duties are 
not loeal or legislative and who shall he elected a 1 genera] elections, 
and also for supplying vacancies created by such removal. 

Office deemed Vacant. Sect. 8, The Legislature may declare the 
eases in which any office shall be deemed vacant when no provision 
is made for that purpose in this constitution. 

Compensation of Officers. Sfxt. q. No officer whose salary is 
fixed by the Constitution shall receive any additional compensation. 
Each oi the other state officers named in the Constitution shall, during 
his continuance in office, receive a compensation, to be fixed by law, 
which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which 
he shall have been elected or appointed; nor shall he receive to his 
use any fees or perquisites of office or other compensation. 

ARTICLE XI 

State Militia. Sect. i. All able-bodied male citizens between the 
ages of eighteen and forty-five years, who are residents of the State, 
shall constitute the militia, subject however to such exemptions as 
are now, or may be hereafter created by the laws of the United 
States, or by the Legislature of this State. 

Enlistment. Sect. 2. The Legislature may provide for the en- 
listment into the active force of such other persons as may make 
application to be so enlisted. 

Organization of Militia. Sect 3. The militia shall be organized 
and divided into such land and naval, and active and reserve forces, 
the Legislature may deem proper, provided however that there 
shall be maintained at all times a force of not less than ten thousand 
enlisted men, fully uniformed, armed, equipped, disciplined and ready 
for active service. Audit shall be the duly of 1 he Legislature at cadi 
session to make sufficient appropriations for the maintenance thereof. 

Appointment of Military Officers by the Governor. SECT. 4. The 
Governor shall appoint the chiefs of the several staff departments, 
his aides-de-camp and military secretary, all of whom shall hold 
office during his pleasure, their commissions to expire with the term 
for which the Governor shall have been elected; In- shall also nomi- 
nate, and with the consent of the Senate appoint, all major-generals 



xlvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

Manner of Election of Military Officers prescribed by Legislature. 
Sect. 5. All other commissioned and non-commissioned officers 
shall be chosen or appointed in such manner as the Legislature may 
deem most conducive to the improvement of the militia, provided, 
however, that no law shall be passed changing the existing mode of 
election and appointment unless two-thirds of the members present 
in each house shall concur therein. 

Commissioned Officers; their Removal. Sect. 6. The commis- 
sioned officers shall be commissioned by the Governor as commander- 
in-chief. No commissioned officer shall be removed from office 
during the term for which he shall have been appointed or elected, 
unless by the Senate on the recommendation of the Governor, stating 
the grounds on which such removal is recommended, or by the sen- 
tence of a court-martial, or upon the findings of an examining board 
organized pursuant to law, or for absence without leave for a period 
of six months or more. 

ARTICLE XII 

Organization of Cities and Villages. SECT. 1 .' It shall be the 
duty of the Legislature to provide for the organization of cities and 
incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation. as& 
ment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, 
so as to prevent abuses in assessments and in contracting debt by 
such municipal corporations; and the Legislature may regulate and 
fix the wages or salaries, the hours of work or labor, and make pro- 
vision for the protection, welfare and safety of persons employed by 
the State or by any county, city, town, village or other civil division 
of the State, or by any contractor or subcontractor performing work, 
labor or services for the State, or for any county, city, town, village 
or other civil division thereof. 

Classification of Cities ; General and Special City Laws ; Special City 
Laws; how passed by Legislature and accepted by Cities. Sect 
All cities are classified according to the latest state enumeration, as 
from time to time made, as follows : The first class includes all 
cities having a population of one hundred and seventy-five thousand 
or more ; the second class, all cities having a population of fifty thou- 
sand and less than one hundred and seventy-five thousand ; the third 

1 As amended November, 1905. 

2 As amended November, 1907. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xlvii 

class, all other cities. Laws relating to the property, affairs or gov- 
ernment of cities, and the several departments thereof, are divided 
into general and special city laws; general city laws are those which 
relate to all the cities of one or more classes; special city laws are 
those which relate to a single city, or to less than all the cities of a 
class. Special city laws shall not be passed except in conformity 
with the provisions of this section. After any bill for a special city 
law, relating to a city, has been passed by both branches o\ the 
Legislature, the house in which it originated shall immediately trans- 
mit a certified copy thereof to the mayor of such city, and within 
fifteen days thereafter the mayor shall return such bill to the house 
from which it was sent, or if the session of the Legislature at which 
such bill was passed has terminated, to the Governor, with the 
mayor's certificate thereon, stating whether the city has or has not 
accepted the same. In every city of the first class, the mayor, and 
in every other city, the mayor and the legislative body thereof con- 
currently, shall act for such city as to such bill; but the Legislature 
may provide for the concurrence of the legislative body in cities of 
the first class. The Legislature shall provide for a public notice 
and opportunity for a public hearing concerning any such bill in 
every city to which it relates, before action thereon. Such a bill, 
if it relates to more than one city, shall be transmitted to the mayor 
of each city to which it relates, and shall not be deemed accepted 
unless accepted as herein provided, by every such city. Whenever 
any such bill is accepted as herein provided, it shall be subject as 
are other bills, to the action of the Governor. Whenever, during 
the session at which it was passed, any such bill is returned without 
the acceptance of the city or cities to which it relates, or within such 
fifteen days is not returned, it may nevertheless again be passed 
by both branches of the legislature, and it shall then be subject as 
are other bills, to the action of the Governor. In every special city 
law which has been accepted by the city or cities to which it relates, 
the title shall be followed by the words " accept eel by the city," or 
as the case may be; in every such law which is passed 
without such acceptance, by the words "passed without the accept- 
ance of the city," or " cities," as the case may be. 

Election of City Officers, when to be Held ; Extension and Abridg- 
ment of Terms. Sect. 3. All elections of city officers, including 
supervisors and judicial officers of inferior local courts, elected in 



xlviii ACTUAL GOVERXMEXT OF XEW YORK 

any city or part of a city, and of county officers elected in the 
counties of New York and Kings, and in all counties whose bound- 
aries are the same as those of a city, except to fill vacancies, shall 
be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November 
in an odd-numbered year, and the term of every such officer si 
expire at the end of an odd-numbered year. The terms of office 
of all such officers elected before the first day of January, one 
thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, whose successors have not 
then been elected, which under existing laws would expire with an 
even-numbered year, or in an odd-numbered year and before the 
end thereof, are extended to and including the last day of December 
next following the time when such terms would otherwise expire; 
the terms of office of all such officers, which under existing laws 
would expire in an even-numbered year, and before the end thereof. 
are abridged so as to expire at the end of the preceding year. This 
section shall not apply to any city of the third class, or to elections 
of any judicial officer, except judges and justices of inferior local 
courts. 

ARTICLE XIII 

Oath of Office. Sect. I. Members of the Legislature, and all 
officers executive and judicial, except such inferior oft iters as shall 
be by law exempted shall, before they enter on the duties of their 
respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirma- 
tion : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that L will support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of 
New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the 

office of , according to the best of my ability "; and all such 

officers who shall have been chosen at any election shall, before they 
enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the 
oath or affirmation above prescribed, together with the following 
addition thereto, as part thereof : 

" And I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have not 
directly or indirectly paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, 
or offered or promised to contribute, any money or other valuable 
thing as a consideration or reward for the giving or withholding a 
vote at the election at which I was elected to said office, and have not 
made any promise to influence the giving or withholding any such 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK xlix 

vote/' and no other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a 
qualification for any office of public trust. 

Official Bribery and Corruption. SECT. 2. Any person holding 

office under the laws of this State, who. except in payment of his 
legal salary, fees or perquisites, shall receive or consent to receive, 
directly or indirectly, anything o\ value or o\ personal advani. 
or the promise thereof, for performing or omitting to perform any 
official act. or with the express or implied understanding thai his 
official action or omission to act is to be in any degree inllin i i 
thereby, shall be deemed guilty of a felony. This section shall not 
affect the validity of any existing statute in relation to the offi 
of bribery. 

Offer or Promise to Bribe. Si CT. 3. Any person who shall offer 
or promise a bribe to an officer, if it shall be received, shall be deemed 
guilty of a felony and liable to punishment, except as herein pro- 
vided. Xo person offering a bribe shall, upon any prosecution of 
the officer for receiving such bribe, be privileged from testifying 
in relation thereto, and he shall not be liable to civil or criminal 
prosecution therefor, if he shall testify to the giving or offeril g 
such bribe. Any person who shall offer or promise a bribe, if it be 
rejected by the officer to whom it was tendered, shall be guilty of 
an attempt to bribe, which is hereby declared to be a felony. 

Person Bribed or Offering a Bribe may be a Witness. Si ( 
Any person charged with receiving a bribe, or with offering or prom- 
ising a bribe, shall be permitted to testify in his own behalf in any 
civil or criminal prosecution therefor. 

Free Passes, Franking Privileges, etc., not to be received by Public 
Officers; Penalty. SECT. 5. No public officer, or person el© 
or appointed to a public office, under the laws of this -hall 

directly or indirectly ask. demand 

e for his own use or benefit, or for the use <>r benefit of another, 
any free pass, free transportation, franking privilege <»r discrimina- 
tion in passenger, telegraph <>r telephone rates, from an\ person <>r 

poration, or make use of the same himself <>r in COnjun< t ion with 
another. A person who violates any ; 1 1 a 1 1 

guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall forfeit his 1 
>uit of • eral. \i:> 1 orporation, 1 

'. who -hall offer <>r promis4 



1 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

portation, franking privilege or discrimination, shall also be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to punishment except as herein 
provided. No person or officer or agent of a corporation giving any 
such free pass, free transportation, franking privilege or discrimina- 
tion hereby prohibited, shall be privileged from testifying in relation 
thereto, and he shall not be liable to civil or criminal prosecution 
therefor if he shall testify to the giving of the same. 

Removal of District Attorney for Failure to Prosecute ; Expenses 
of Prosecutions for Bribery. Sect. 6. Any district attorney who 
shall fail faithfully to prosecute a person charged with the violation 
in his county of any provision of this article which may come to his 
knowledge, shall be removed from office by the Governor, after due 
notice and an opportunity of being heard in his defense. The 
penses which shall be incurred by any county, in investigating and 
prosecuting any charge of bribery or attempting to bribe any per- 
son holding office under the laws of this State, within such county, 
or of receiving bribes by any such person in said county, shall be a 
charge against the State, and their payment by the State shall be 
provided for by law. 

ARTICLE XIV 

Amendments to Constitution, how Proposed, Voted upon and 
Ratified. Sect. i. Any amendment or amendments to this Consti- 
tution may be proposed in the Senate and Assembly ; and if the same 
shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of 
the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall 
be entered on their journals, and the yeas and nays taken thereon, 
and referred to the Legislature to be chosen at the next general elec- 
tion of senators, and shall be published for three months previous to 
the time of making such choice ; and if in the Legislature so next 
chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments 
shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each 
house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit each 
proposed amendment or amendments to the people for approval in 
such manner and at such times as the Legislature shall prescribe; 
and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amend- 
ments by a majority of the electors voting thereon, such amendment 
or amendments shall become a part of the Constitution from and 
after the first day of January next after such approval. 



CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK li 

Future Constitutional Conventions; how Called; Election of Dele- 
gates ; Compensation ; Quorum ; Submission of Amendments ; Officers ; 
Rules; Vacancies; taking Effect. Sect. 2. At the general election 

to be held in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, and 
even- twentieth year thereafter, and also at such times as the Legis- 
lature may by law provide, the question, " Shall there be a conven- 
tion to revise the Constitution and amend the same? n shall be 
decided by the electors of the State ; and in case a majority of the elec- 
tors voting thereon shall decide in favor of a convention for such 
purpose, the electors of every senate district of the State, as then 
organized, shall elect three delegates at the next ensuing general 
election at which members of the Assembly shall be chosen, and the 
electors of the State voting at the same election shall elect fifteen 
delegates-at-large. The delegates so elected shall convene at the 
capitol on the tirst Tuesday of April next ensuing after their election, 
and shall continue their session until the business of such convention 
shall have been completed. Every delegate shall receive for his serv- 
ices the same compensation and the same mileage as shall then be 
annually payable to the members of the Assembly. A majority of 
the convention shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of busi- 
ness, and no amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted for 
approval to the electors as hereinafter provided, unless by the assent 
of a majority of all the delegates elected to the convention, the yeas 
and nays being entered on the journal to be kept. The convention 
shall have the power to appoint such officers, employes and assistants 
as it may deem necessary, and fix their compensation and to provide 
for the printing of its documents, journal and proceedings. The 
convention shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, choose 
its own officers, and be the judge of the election, returns and quali- 
fications of its members. In case of a vacancy, by death, resigna- 
tion or other cause, of any district delegate elected to the convention, 
such vacancy shall be rilled by a vote of the remaining delegates 
representing the district in which such vacancy occurs. If sueh 
vacancy occurs in the office of a delegate-at -large, such vacancy shall 
be filled by a vote of the remaining delegates-at-large. Any proposed 
constitution or constitutional amendment which shall have been 
adopted by such convention, shall be submitted to a vote «»i* the dec- 
tors of the State at the time and in the manner provided by sucfa 
convention, at an election which shall be held not lett than six m 



lii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

after the adjournment of such convention. Upon the approval of 
such constitution or constitutional amendments, in the manner pro- 
vided in the last preceding section, such constitution or constitutional 
amendment, shall go into effect on the first day of January next after 
such approval. 

Amendments of Convention and Legislature submitted coinci- 
dently. SECT. 3. Any amendment proposed by a constitutional 
convention relating to the same subject as an amendment prop- 
by the Legislature, coinridently submitted to the people for approval 
at the genera] election held in the year one thousand eijdu hundred 
and ninety-four, or at any subsequent election, shall, if approved, be 
deemed to supersede the amendment so proposed by the legislature. 

ARTICLE XV 

Time of taking Effect. SECT. 1. This Constitution shall be in 
force from and including the first day of January, one thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-five, except as herein otherwise provided. 

Done in Convention at the Capitol in tin- city of Albany, the 
twenty-ninth day of September, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred ninety-four, and of the Independence of the 
United States of America the one hundred and nineteenth. 
In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our 
names. 

JOSEPH HODGES CHOATE, 

President and Delegate-at-Large 
Charles Elliott Fitch, 

Secretary 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 



Preamble 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
and establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America. 

ARTICLE I. — LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i. — Congress 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 1 

t 

Section 2. — House of Representatives 

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 

chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and 

the electors in each State shall have the quaiihi a- 

Eiection tions requisite for electors of the most numerous 

Members \ . 

branch of the State Legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 

to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven 

Qualifications . . . . " _ T . ' , . , ,, 

years a citizen of the united States, and who shall 

not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall 

be chosen. 

presentatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 

the several States which may be included within this I'nion, 

1 The term of each Com the first Monday 

in December ar. \ the fourth ceding the 

beginning of its second regular session, when a i. gins." 

t liii 



liv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

according to their respective numbers, 1 which shall be determined 

by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those 

bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not 

taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. 2 The actual 
Apportionment . . n t , . . . , r 

enumeration shall be made within three years after 

the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall 
by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least 
one representative : and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three; 
Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 
one ; Connecticut, five ; New York, six; New Jersey, four; Penn- 
sylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; 
North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three. 
When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 

the executive authoritv 8 thereof shall issue writs of 
Vacancies . rn . 

election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 4 and 

Officers other officers ; and shall have the sole power of 

Impeachment impeachment. 



Section 3. - Senate 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Number senators from each State, chosen by the ure G 

of Senators : thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have 
Election onc yote 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of 
the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be 
into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class 
shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year ; of the second 
class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; of the third class, at 

1 The apportionment under the census of 1910 is one representative for about 
220,000 persons. 

2 The word " persons " refers to slaves. This paragraph has been amended 
(Amendments XIII and XIV) and is no longer in force. 3 Governor. 

4 The speaker is one of the representatives ; the other officers — clerk, 
sergeant-at-arms, postmaster, doorkeeper, etc. — are not. 

5 See Amendment XVII, which provides for the election of senators by direct 
vote of the people. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lv 

the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen 
every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or other- 
wise, during the recess of the Legislature of any 
Classification "7; . . . 7 

State, the executive 1 thereof may make temporary 

appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall 

then till such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the 

aire of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of 
Qualifications , & ., . , -L J . . . ,, J 

the united States, and who shall not, when elected, 

be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be president 
President of of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they 
Senate be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a presi- 
dent pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice- 
President, or when he shall exercise the office of 
President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments: 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirma- 
tion. When the President of the United States is 
Impeachment Wed, lne Chief-Justice shall preside: and no per- 
son shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
two-thirds of the members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and 
Judgment enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 

in Case of United States ; but the party convicted shall never- 

Conviction theless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, 

judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. — Both Houses 

The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators 
Manner of an d representatives shall be prescribed in each State 

electing by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may 

Members at an y time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 

except as to the places of choosing senators. 2 

1 Governor. 

2 This is to prevent Congress from fixing the places of meeting of the state 
legislatures. 



lvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
Meetings of su ch meeting shall be on the first Monday in Decem- 
Congress ber, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. — The Houses separately 

Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller 
rganiza ion num ] )er mav adjourn from day to day, and may be 
authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. 
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the 
concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in 
their judgment require secrecy, and the yeas and 
nays of the members of either house on any ques- 
tion shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered 
on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without 

the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
Adjournment . . 11,,. 

three days, nor to any other place than that in 

which the two houses shall be sitting. 



Section 6. — Privileges and Disabilities of Members 

The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 1 
for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 

treasury of the United States. They shall in all 
Pay and cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, 

Members ^e privileged from arrest during their attendance at 

the session of their respective houses, and in going 
to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

1 Seventy-five hundred dollars a year and twenty cents for every mile of travel 
each way from their homes at each annual session. There is also an allowance 
of one hundred and twenty-five dollars for stationery and newspapers. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lvii 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority 

of the United States, which shall have been created, 

Pro 1 1 ions or t j 10 emoluments whereof shall have been increased, 
on Members . . .. 

during such time ; and no person holding any Office 

under the United States shall be a member of either house during 

his continuance in office. 



Section 7. — Method of PASSING Laws 

All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 

Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
Revenue Bills r . ' u u-ii 

concur with amendments as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa- 
tives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented 
to the President of the United States; if he approve, 

ScTi^'lIws he shaU sign it ' but if not ' he sha11 return lt i with 
his objections, to that house in which it shall 

have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsidera- 
tion, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall 
be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which 
it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of 
that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of 
both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on 
'lurnal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after 
it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in 
like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary 
(except on a question of adjournment) shall be 
' presented to the President of the United States ; 
and before the same shall take effect, shall be 
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be' repassed 
by two-thirds of the Senate and House of R ep r esen tatives, a< eord- 
ing to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 



lviii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Section 8. — Powers granted to Congress 

The Congress shall have power: 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 

the debts and provide for the common defense 

Congress anc * & enera * welfare of the United States; but all 

duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform 

throughout the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and mcasur 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States; 

To establish post-offices and post-roads; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, 
for limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas, and offenses against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, 1 arid make 
rules concerning captures on land and water; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money 
to that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions. 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively 

1 Letters granted by the government to private citizens in time of war, 
authorizing them, under certain conditions, to capture the ships of the enemy. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lix 

the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the 
militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession 
of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the 
seat of the government of the United States, 1 and to exercise like 
authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legis- 
lature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection 
of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful build- 
ings : — And 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for car- 
implied rvm S mto execution the foregoing powers, and all 
Powers other powers vested by this Constitution in the gov- 
ernment of the United States, or in any department or officer 
thereof. 

Section* 9. — Towers forbidden to the United States 

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit, 
Absolute shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to 

on Congress ^ e ) ear one tnousan< ^ eight hundred and eight, 
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such impor- 
tation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 2 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 8 shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder 4 or ex-post-facto law 5 shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in propor- 
tion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

1 The District of Columbia. 

2 This refers to the foreign slave trade. " Person^ ■ means ■ slaves." In 180S 
Congress prohibited the importation of slaves. This clause is, of course, no 
longer in force. 

* An official document requiring an accused person who is in prison awaiting 
trial to be brought into court to inquire whether he may be legally held. 

< A special legislative act by which a person may be condemned to death or 
to outlawry or banishment without the opportunity of defending himself which 
he would have in a court of law. 

5 A law relating to the punishment of acts committed before the law was 
passed. 

t 



lx ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor 
shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement 
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money 
shall be published from time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: 
And no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, 
shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, 
emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

Section io. — Powers forbidden to the States 

No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; 

grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; 

Absolute cm j t | } jj] s () £ crec jjt . make anything but gold and 

Prohibitions .. . , '. 1 r 7 i . 

on the States sl l ver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any 

bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing 
the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be 

absolutely necessary for executing its inspection 
Conditional | awg . an( j t ] ie net p ro d uce of all duties and imposts, 

on the States ^ a ^ ^y any State on imports or exports, shall be 

for the use of the treasury of the United States ; 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control 
of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty 
of tonnage, keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a 
foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lxi 

ARTICLE II. — EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i. — President and VICE-PRESIDENT 

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 

United States of America. He shall hold his office 

during the term of four years, and, together with 

the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as 

follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole num- 
ber of senators and representatives to which the 
State may be entitled in the Congress : but no 
senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
proht under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

[* The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall 
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which list they shall sign and cer- 
Proceedings of tify and transm i t sealed to the seat of the govern- 
Electors and ' . . T , . . _ .. . . .. 

of Congress rnent of the United States, directed to the president 

of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. 
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such 
majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of 
Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them 
for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
five highest on the list the said house shall, in like manner, choose 
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each State having one 
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall co- i member or 

members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
States shall be necessary to a choice. In evei ifter the 

1 This paragraph in brack Q superseded by the Twelfth Amendn. 



lxii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

choice of the President, the person having the greatest number 
of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall 
choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.] 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, 
Time of an ^ ^ ie day on which they shall give their votes ; 

choosing which day shall be the same throughout the United 

Electors States. 1 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this 
Qualifications Conslitution shall be eligible to the office of Presi- 
of President . ' & ...... 

dent; neither shall any person be eligible to that 

office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, 
and been fourteen years resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the 
Vice-President, and the Congress may by law pro- 
vide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both 
of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall 
then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly until 
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services 

a compensation 2 which shall neither be increased nor diminished 

during the period for which he shall have been 

Salarv 

elected, and he shall not receive within that period 

any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the 

following oath or affirmation: — M I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 
that I will faithfully execute the office of President 
of the United States, and will, to the best of my 

ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 

United States." 

!The electors are chosen on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in 
November, preceding the expiration of a presidential term. They vote (by Act 
of Congress of Feb. 3, 1SS7) on the second Monday in January following for 
President and Vice-President. The votes are counted, and declared in Congress 
on the second Wednesday of the following February. 

2 The President now receives 575,000 a year, with an allowance of 525,000 for 
expenses; the Vice-President receives a salary of £12,000 per year. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Ixiii 



Section 2. — Towers of the President 

The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 

navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, 

__ MJA when called into the actual service of the United 

Military ...... 

Powers States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of 

the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
Reprieves and ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 

their respective offices ; and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United 
States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators 

present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and 

with the advice and consent of the Senate shall 
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges 
of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, 

whose appointments are not herein otherwise pro- 

PP ° 1D vided for, and which shall be established by law : 

ments ' J 

but the Congress may by law vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President 
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 

may happen during the recess of the Senate, by 
Vacanc" granting commissions which shall expire at the end 

of their next session. 



Section 3. — Duties of the President 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 1 
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration 

such measures as he shall judge necessarv and 
Message ,77, * Jr • 

expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, con- 
vene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree ment 

1 The President gives this information by lending messages t-> 1 

Washington and John Adams read their m< ferson, DOW- 

. sent a written | his private . and this 

custom continued until Wilson, who returned t" the original plan "i Washington 

and Adams. t 



lxiv ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Convene 
Congress 



between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he 
may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other 
public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws 

be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of 

the United States. 

Section 4. — Impeachment 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on 
0ffi impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, brib- 

ery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 



ARTICLE III. — JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 
Section i. — United States Courts 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 

Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the C I may 

from time to time ordain and establish. The 
Courts . . , , r , 1 . 

established judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, 

shall hold their offices during good behavior, and 
Judges . n . . . 7 . . 

shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 

compensation l which shall not be diminished during their con- 
tinuance in office. 

Section 2. — Jurisdiction of United States Courts 

The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United St.. 

and treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
Federal their authority; — to all cases affecting ambassa- 

General dors, other public ministers, and consuls ; — to all 

cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; — to 
controversies to which the United States shall be a party ; — 
to controversies between two or more States; — between a State 
and citizens of another State; 2 — between citizens of different 

1 The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court receives an annual salary of Si 5,000, 
while the associates receive 514,500 each. 
'^ But compare the Eleventh Amendment. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lxv 

States ; — between citizens of the same State claiming lands under 

grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 

thereof, and foreig 5, citizens or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 

consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme 

Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other 

upreme cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall 

Court . r 

have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, 

with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress 

shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 

be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the State where the 

said crimes shall have been committed ; but when 
Trials 

not committed within any State, the trial shall be at 

such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Section 3. — Treason 

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
Treason war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, 

defined giving them aid and comfort. 

No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testi- 
mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 

treason, but no attainder of treason shall work 
Punishment . r . , . . . . , . 

corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during 

the life of the person attainted. 



ARTICLE IV. — RELATIONS OF THE STATES TO 
EACH OTHER 

Section i. — Official Acts 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws, prescribe the manner in which 
such acts, records, and proceedings ftball be proved, and the d 
thereof. 



Ixvi ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



Section 2. — Privileges of Citizens 

The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in 

ugi ives another State, shall, on demand of the executive 

from Justice ; ' 

authority of the State from which he fled, be deliv- 
ered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 
No person 1 held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence 
si/ 1 1VC °^ an >' ^ aw or regulation therein, be discharged from 

such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on 
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 



Section 3. — NEW States and TERRITORIES 

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic- 
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed 
g^ 10n by the junction of two or more States, or parts 

of States, without the consent of the Legislatures 
of the States concerned as well as of the Congn 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all 

needful rules and regulations respecting the terri- 

Terntory tQrv Qr ot j lcr property belonging to the United 

United°states° States J and nothing in this Constitution shall be 

so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 

United States, or of any particular State. 



Section 4. — Protection of the States 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the 
Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against 
domestic violence. 

l " Person " here includes slave. This was the basis of the Fugitive Slave 
Law. It is now superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lxvii 



ARTICLE V. — AMENDMENTS 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem 

it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, 

on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds 

How of the several States, shall call a convention for 

proposed 

proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall 

be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, 

when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several 

States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or 

the other mode of ratification may be proposed by 
°^ the Congress ; provided that no amendment which 

may be made prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth 
clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, 
without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate. 



ARTICLE VI. — GENERAL PROVISIONS 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before 

the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid 
Public Debt . ^ r . .. . - _ , ' , . „ 

against the. United States under this Constitution, 

as under the confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under the authority of the 
c^-tt t United States, shall be the supreme law of the 

land; and the judges in every State shall be bound 
thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and 
Official Oath judicial officers, both of the United States and of 
the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirma- 
gious es t j on tQ support this Constitution ; but no religious 
test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States. 

t 



lxviii 



ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



ARTICLE VII. — RATIFICATION OF THE 
CONSTITUTION 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be 
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the 
States so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the 
States present, the seventeenth day of September, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. 



In witness whereof, 
names. 1 



we have h reunto subscribed our 
GE( >RGE WASHINGTON, 



NEW HAMPSHIRE 

John Lam. 
Nicholas Gilman 



MASSACHUSETTS 

Nathaniel GORHAll 
Rufus King 

CONNECTICUT 

William Samuel Johnson 
Roger Shi: km an 

NEW YORK 
Alexander Hamilton 

NEW JERSEY 

William Livingston 
David Brearley 
William Paterson 
Jonathan Dayton 



PENNSYLVANIA 

Thoma 

I M 

YMF.R 

Thom 

Jared I 

RIS * 

DELAWARE 

i- Rkad 

i dforo, Jr. 
Joh n Dick i] 
Richai 

Jacob Bki 

MARYLAND 
James M'Henky 
Daniel of St. Thomas 

Jenifer 
Daniel Carroll 



VIRGIN] A 

Madison, Jr. 



NORTH CAROLINA 

Willi \ 

1 Spaight 

Hugh William 



I.INA 

Charles C. Pi* 
Charles 1 

I LER 



GEORGIA 

Wi i.i.i am Few 
Abraham Baldwin 



Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



1 There were sixty-five delegates chosen to the convention : ten did not 
attend ; sixteen declined or failed to sign ; thirty-nine signed. Rhode Island 
sent no delegates. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lxix 



AMENDMENT 

Article I. 1 — Confess shall make no law respecting an 

Relizion fcabUshment of religion, or prohibr free 

Speech, P: ^cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 

Assembly, speech, or of the press; or the right of the people 

Petition peaceably to assemble, and to petition the go\ 
ment for redress of grievanc 

Article II. — A well-regulated militia being necessary to the 

security of a free State the nVht of the people to 
Militia , ' , . „ . 

keep and bear arms shall not be lntnn^ 

Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quar- 
tered in anv house, without the consent of the 

Soldiers e . . , 

owner ; nor in time of war but in a manner to be 

prescribed ': 

Article IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their 

persons, houses, papers, and e: : nst unreasonable searches 

and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants 

nreasona e gj^j] i ssue? but upon probable cause, supported by 

oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 

place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

Article V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous cr: ss 0:1 a presentment or indict- 

ment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the 

nmina j^^ Qr naval forces, or in the militia, when in 

Prosecutions , ' 

actual service in time of war and public da: 

nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 

put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any 

criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor to be deprived 

of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall 

private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 

enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury 

1 These amendments were proposed by Congress and ratified by t 
latures of the several Stat the filth article of the Constit;. 

The first ten were offered in 17S9 and adopted befor 

were for the most part the work of I ' 1 the 

Bill \j guard more efficiently tfa I the 

t 



lxx ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been com- 
mitted, which district shall have been previously ascertained by 
law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusa- 
tion ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to 
have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in 

controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right 
Suits at Q £ tr j a j k • s j )a jj | ;c p rcservc( ] an d no f ac t 

Common x . , . . . „ , , . • , - 

Law tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in 

any court of the United States than according to 
the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor 
Bail, excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual 

Punishments punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution of cer- 
tain rights shall not be construed to deny or dis- 

Reserved parage others retained by the people. 

Rights and r A fe * l . . , 

Powers Article X. - ihe powers not delegated to the 

United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited 

by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 

Article XI. 1 — The judicial power of the United States shall 
Judicial not De construed to extend to any suit in law or 

Power equity, commenced or prosecuted against any of 

granted t | lc United States by citizens of another State, 

or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

Articlk XII. 2 — The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one 
of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State 
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted 
for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as 
Vice-President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-Presi- 
dent, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government 
of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate; — 

1 Proposed in 1794; adopted in 1798. 

2 Adopted in 1S04. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Ixxi 

the president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 

and House of Representatives, op^n all the certificates, ana the 

s shall then be counted; — t'.. .test 

number of votes for President, shall be the Presi- 
Method of dent, if such number be a majority of the whole 

President and numDer of electors appointed; and if D< 

President have such majority, then from th 3 having 

the highest numbers not exceeding three on th 
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choos- 
ing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the repre- 
sentation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not 
choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve 
upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then 
the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the President. The 
person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, 
shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the pur- 
pose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, 
and a majority of the whole .number shall be necessary to a choice. 
But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President 
shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. 
Article XIII. 1 — Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary 

servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof 
abolThed tnc P art y sna ^ have been duly convicted, shall 

exist within the United States, or any place 
ject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

Ami' le XIV. 1 — Section /. All person* r naturali 

in the United States, and subject to the jurisdictioi. . are 

1 Adopted in 1 

2 Adopted in 1868. 

t 



lxxii ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 

citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they 

reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall 

abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of 

cmzens madG the United Statcs > nor sha11 an >' State deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according t i their resj umbers, counting 

the whole number of persons in each xcluding Indians 

not taxed. But when the i for the 

choice of electors for I and Vi nt of the Ui 

States, reprcs ve or judi 

cers of a State, or the mem' 

denied to any of the male inhabitants of such Stat 
twenty-on I fnited S 

in any w 11 ion or other 

crime, the ba all be recced in the 

proportion which the number of such male citii 
the whole number of male citizens twenty* ITS of age in 

such State. 

Section J. on shall be a senator or I \itive in 

Congress, or elector of President or Vi lent, or hold any 

office, civil or military, under the Unil any 

State, who having previously taken an oath as a member of Con- 
gress, or as an officer of the Unit r of 
any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of 
State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Coi 
vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United Statcs, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or 
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States 
nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incui 
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or 
any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such 
debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

t 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES lxxiii 

Section^* shall have power roe, by appropriate 

station, the pi i this an 

tion I. The right of citizens ^{ the United 
Neg: te shall not be denied or abridged by the 

made Voters fjnj by any 5 . account of 

servitude. 

SS shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropria on. 

LTICLE XVI.- — The Congress shall have power to lay and 
collect taxes on incomes, from wh ace derived, without 

apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any 
census or enumeration. 

.VII.- — The Senate of the United States shall be com- 
itors from each Stat I by the people the 

for six years: and S r shall have one vote. The el< 

in each State shall have the qualifi quisite for electors of 

the most numerous branch of the gislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs i f elec- 
tion to fill such vacancies: Provided. That the legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appoint- 
ments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature 
may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the elec- 
tion or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part 
of the Constitution. 

N' >tf-:. The above amendment is in lieu of the first paragraph <»f 
section three of Article I of the Constitution of the United St 
and in lieu of so much of the second paragraph of the same section 
as relates to the filling of vacancies. 

1 Adopted in 1S70. - Adopted in 1 



INDHX 



Absolute Monarchy, 420 
Activities of the state. 05, 156 
Admiralty, jurisdiction. 331 
Admission of new states. 341 ; 

methods of, 34a 
Affairs under the Articles oi Con- 
federation, 176 

culture, federal department oi, 

state college of, 151 : 

state commissioner oi. 121 ; state 

schools oi. 151 

Aid. state, distribution of, 140 

Aldermen, city, 4- s i New York 

City 
Algonquin Indians. sn 
Aliens, classes of, excluded from the 

United Si 
Amendment. Articles of Confedera- 
tion, 1 79 ; to city charters, 47 _ 4§ J 
existing, 363-365 ; to federal con- 
stitution, 362 ; methods of, 362 ; 
York State, 93 ; other states, 

379 
Amendments : Fourth, 357 ; First to 
Tenth, 356-360; Eleventh, 332; 
Twelfth. 293; Thirteenth. 364; 
Fourteenth, 364; Fifteenth, 365; 
Sixteenth, 228; Seventeenth, 218 
Anarchists, excluded from United 

236 
Annapolis convention. 180 
Antifcderalists, views of, 190 
Antitrust law, 238 

state, 132 
■ellate division of the supreme 
court, state, 131 

>wer, of president, 299; 
of Senate, 256 

nment and collection of 
I assemblymen, 104- 
105 : < >smen, 204, 21 1 

statr 
Arbitration, international. 402 
Archi' . 125 



Armies, 241 

Army, United States regular, 242 

Arrest, 135 

Arson denned, 

Articles i^\ Confederation, 176, 180, 
200 

Assault defined, 

Assembly, the right of peaceable. 07, 

; • 357 

mbly, the, 104; officers, 107 
Assemblymen, qualifications, Ap- 
pendix, xi ; salary, 106; term, 

106 
jsment roll of taxes, 173; 

swearing 
Assessor-, city, 50; town, 18; 

village, 33 
Attainder, bills of. 260 
Attendance upon school compulsory, 

145 
Attitude of the states, 1 76 
Attorney, city, 50; district, 79; 

state attorney-general, 120 

Auditors, town, 24 
Australian ballot, 167, 169, 3 
Authority, conflict of, 351 

Bail, 81 

Ballot, Australian, [67; -ample. 
169 ; voting by, 167, 384 

Bankruptcy laws, 239 

Banks, state, 101 ; state superin- 
tendent of, 1 24 
• government, what is? 422 

Bill, federa >; federal and 

state con ; of indictment, 

Bills, Of attainder. I redit 

prohibited to 

lative, defined, 100; number of, in 
; reporti] 
Mic. to originate in H 
R< presj ntatives, 254 ; 



lxxvi 



INDEX 



Board of aldermen, New York City, 
62 ; salary of, 64 

Board of canvassers, 77, 168 

Board of education, city, 52; New 
York City, 68; village, 34-35 

Board of equalization, county, 172, 
173; state, 173 

Board of estimate and apportion- 
ment, New York City, 66 

Board of Regents, 141- 142, Appen- 
dix, xliii 

Board of supervisors, 76, 172, 
173; town, 24 

Borough presidents, New York 
City, 64, 68 

Bounties, land, 320 

Bribery, denned, 1 14 

Bridges, superintendent >>f, county, 

80; town, 20 

Bryce, James, quoted, 201 

Budget, in cities, 56 ; statu, 1 71 

Building laws, 53 

Bureaus, federal : animal industry, 
323; children's, 325; education, 
321; geological survey, 

immigrants, 325; Indian affair-. 
321; Internal revenue, 315 ; labor 

statistics, 325; land grants, 320; 
land office, jig; naturalization, 
325; patents. 322; pen-ion-, 

321; plant industry , 323 ; public 

works, 317; railroads, 322; sur- 
veys, 320; weather, s 2 S 
Burglary denned, 135. 

Cabinet, character of, 311 ; English, 
405; relations to the president, 
312; and the unwritten constitu- 
tion, 372 

Canada, constitution, 413 ; execu- 
tive, 414; judicial system, 415; 
legislature, 414 

Canals, 100 

Candidates, method of choosing, in 
New York State, 163-165 ; in 
other states, 3S2-3S4 

Canvassers, board of, 77, 168 

Canvassing votes, 77, 168, 385 

Capital, the national, 249 

Captures on land and water, 244 

Career in Congress, 2S3 



Caucus, congressional, 281 ; in 

legislature, 106 
Cayuga Indians, 88 
Census, federal, 204, 324, Appendix, 

liv; state, 104. Appendix, viii 
Centralized government, 389, 422 
Challenging a vote, 3S5 
Chamber, the House, 266; the 

Senate, 200 
Chamberlain, city, 50 
Charge to the jury, 138 
Charities, board of, 121 ; state, 154 
Charter, the city, | ■ illage, 

28, 30 
Charter of liberties, New 

State. 01 

Children's courts irk City, 70 

Chinese, denied naturalization 

exclusion of, 236 
Choosing candidates, convention 

plan, [63; primary plan. 164, 

Cities, classified, 47; created by 

legislature 
Citizens, privilege of, granted by 

one state to another, 345 340 
Citizenship, 150; denied to Chinese, 

247 
City, 41 60; its bus ; city 

counties, city ma: 

institutions 

officials, how chosen, 4S; terms 

of, 51 
City counties, 
Civic procedun 

Civil-service commissioner, federal, 
tate, E22 

Civil War. New York State in, 86 
Claim-. Court of federal, 337 

Claims, court of, -tate. 133 

Clearance of vess 

Clerk, city, 50; county, 78; school 

district, 8; town, 18; village, 33 
Clinton, George, 141 
Closure in debate, :7ft 
Coinage, power o\, 23$ 
Collector, city, 50; school district, 

8; town, 10; village, 33 
College, electoral, failure of. 

veterinary, 140. 1 - 
College. State, of Agriculture. 151 



INDEX 



ixxvii 



Col. 

Department oi, and 
Lab inter- 

Cor 
in; 

! wernment 
Commissioner >n. 

: in- 
City, 67 ; of railr 

.110. 1:1-1:5. 14: 

. ral. 

tho st 
Common council. 4S 

->1 fund, : 

by the 
adent, 

- 
Compro: >n- 

stitution. 
Comptroller, city. 

ipulsory education, 145-147 
Concurrent pn 1 

Condemnation proceedings, 44 
Confederation, the. 41 S 
Congress, adjournmer ap- 

pointment of members, 204 ; 
- of representation in. 
- 
career in, of debate 

in. . »ared with o >i 

of Confederal 
with Parliament, 1 

limi- 
tations upon, thods 
of voting in, 275; miscellaneous 

iting, 
mer rs of 

quorum. 

231 : 211; 

war 



i 

union, unwritten, 

union. I 

glish, 404; 

me: 

land, 415 

5 
appendix, i; amendnu 

natui 
oS : Quml 

• union oi Unii 
amendn 

from British, iq6 

different iron; I 

and ml 

pow ratincati* 

stability 
the 

Appendix 
Constitutional convention, ch. 
- 
klin in, tnlton and 

lison in. 
plans submitted. 1 
■ 

. mend- 
mei 

hist 
met 

402 

: i<>n of un- 
I 

' - 
stit 

234 



lxxvlii 



INDEX 



Counties in cities, 62, 75; created 
by legislature, 95 

County, the, 75-85, 162; in action, 
81 ; government of, 76 ; its im- 
portance, 83 ; in New York City, 
68-75 

County clerk, 83, 78 

County court, 81, 130-13 1 

County judge, 80, 83 

County treasurer, 79, 172 

Court of Claims, federal, 337 

Court of claims, state, 133 

Court of special sessions, municipal, 
69 ; New York City, 69 

Courts, of appeals, 132; appellate 
division, 131 ; city, 5 1 , 68, 71 ; 
coroners'. Si , [335 county, 80, Si, 

130; duties of, 134; federal, 
138; of impeachment, 132; mili- 
tary, 244; state supreme, 1 3 1 ; 
surrogates', [33 ; village, 34 

Courts of District of Columbia, 
Courtsof New York ( 'it y : children s, 
70; county, 70; general sessions, 
70; inferior, 7 1 ; magistrates', 

69; municipal, 69 ; spa i;il ses 
sions, 69; surrogates', 70 
Courts of the United States, 
enumerated, 330; jurisdiction of, 

331 ; procedure in, 338 

Courts of the United States: circuit 
courts of appeal, 335; Court of 
Claims, 337; Court of Customs 
Appeal, 337; district court-. 336J 
Supreme Court, 334 

Credit, state, 100 

Crimes, punishment of, 135-139; 
treason, 334 

Criminal procedure, 135-138 

Criminals, fugitive, 340 

Customs Appeal, Court of, 337 

Debate, closure of, 276 
Debt, the public, 361 
Decentralization in government, 

389. 421 

Defendant defined, 134 

Democracy, pure and representative, 
421 

Departments, executive, see Execu- 
tive departments 



Departments of government, 1 
48-51; county, 76-83; federal, 
314-325; state, 104, 115, 131; 
village, 31-34 

District attorney, 79, 81, 84; 
federal, 337 

District courts, federal, 336 

District superintendent of s<Ji< 
24, So, 144 

District tax, 1 73 

Division of p<, 

I divorce, 97 

I )ot trine of national sovereignty, 

Domestic violence, protection 
against, guaranteed, 344 

I drainage systems, 45 

Dutch colony in New York. 

I hitch West India Company, The, 89 

I duties, 1 ustoms, 

Duty of the court-, tin. 
Education, < ity, 52 53 ; federal aid 

^i, 150; federal Commissioner of . 
319, J21j history of , 141 ; in rural 
distrii ts, 7 13 ; state department 
of, 141 150; state commissi 

of. 142; in the States, 306" 

town, 24; in villa- 

Elastic clause of the (Jniti 

Constitution, the. 
Election, districts, 161 ; expens 

163 ; inspectors of, 25 ; in the 
raJ states, upen ision 

of, |66" ; time of. [62 

Elective officers, city, 48; federal, 

210, 218, 292; state, i'jj ; town, 

17 ; village, 31 
Electoral college, failure ni the, 296- 

297 
Electoral commission of 1 
Electors, presidential, choice 

395; discretionary powers of, 

296, 368 
Eleventh Amendment, ^2 
Eminent domain. 4 
Engineer and surveyor, state, 120 
England, cabinet, 405 ; constitution, 

404; executive, 405 ; judicial 

tern, 400 ; legislature. 404 
English colony, New York an, 90 
Enrollment of party voters, 161 



IXDEX 



lxxix 



Entry oi vessels, a 

Equalization, board oi, county and 

-173 

Estimate and apportionment, board 
\e\v York City, 66 
se, state commissioner of , 121 
Excises, 

Executive, cabinet departments, 
311-327; Canadian. 414 ; county, 
department in city, 40-50; 
English, 405 ; federal 

?; ; French, 411; 
German, 408; in New York Cky, 

5 ; salaries < 4 foreign, 
oi state oi New York, 11.: 
in the st 
Executive departments. federal : 
ulture, 322; commerce, 
history of their creation. 313-314; 
interior. 310 

labor, 3:4 ; 1 aniza- 

tion oi the. 313; post office. 

state. 314; treasury. 315; 

war, 316 

Expansion, national, map of, 251. 

Expenditures, educational, SS 

-t facto laws, forbidden, 260 
Extradition, 346 

Federal courts, 13S, 330, 334-33$ 

.1 government, its guarantees 
to the individual, 356 ; restrictions 
upon, 

ral state, the. 419 

Mst j The, 190 

of, 100 

1 7S 
24 
• nth Amendment, 365 
Fifth Amendment, 358 
Filibuster!: [ 

Finances, federal, 228- 

t 71 ; 
04 
Fire depart men' 7 

Amendn. 
Fiv- the, 88 

tes prohibited 
from 



Foreign commerce, federal control 

oi. 

Forestry, State College oi, 149. [52 

Forests, 100 

Fourteenth Amendment, 246, 

Fourth Amendment . 

France, government oi. defined, 410; 
constitution. 410; executive, 411 ; 
judicial system. 412; legislature, 
410 

Franchise, 37; how obtained. 

Franklin, Benjamin, in constitu- 
tional convention, 

Free trade, policy oi. 230 

Free transportation forbidden, 114 

Fugitive criminals, 346 

Fundamental law, 1, 93 

Gambling, unlawful, 98 
Game protection, 1 
Garbage, disposal of, 54 

Garfield, James A., quoted, 399 
General sessions court, New York 
City, 70 

Geological survey, 

Germany, constitutional monarchy, 
407; executive, 408; judicial 
system, 409; legislature, 407 

Gerrymandering, 210 

Gladstone, William E., q 

193 
Gospel and school lands, 150 
Government, best form of, 4:2; and 
business, 2, 1 25, 314 326 ; and 
the Indians. 321 ; why uecessary, 
5; see village, town, city, state, 

federal. 201-339 

Governmei ign, ( ompared, 

402 >vern- 

menl ; tables of : 1 ity, 50 ; county, 

82; state and federal, 175; town. 

Mage, 38 
Qors, house of, 1 1 7 
rnor, in New York State, 115; 

in t: 

I individual rights, 



Ixxx 



INDEX 



Guilty, not guilty, no agreement, 
report of jury, 138 

Habeas corpus, 97, 260 

Hamilton, Alexander, 182, 190 

Health, board of, 37, 39 ; state com- 
missioner of , 122; state regulation 
of, III 

Highways, county superintendent of, 
80; state commissioner of, 1255 
town superintendent of, 20 

Historical sketch of education, 141 

Hospitals, county. 84; state com- 
mission of. 

Hours of labor, illation of, 

1 1 1 

House bill, in tin- legislating . 
stages <>i" a, 269 

House of governors, 1 1 7 

House of Representatives, adjourn- 
ment, 222 j chamber of, 266; 
choice of officers, 2 1 
elusion of members unber 

of members, 204; organization, 
212 ; power of impeachment . 
presidential election in, 
quorum, 222 ; revenue bills, 
vacancies, how filled, 211; 
also Representatives 

How a bill becomes a law, in the 
Legislature, 100 

How to register, 166 

Hudson, Ilcnn 

Husband and wife, 97 

Immigration, 325 ; restrictions, 

impeachment, by the assembb 

by the House o\ Representath es, 

255 
Income tax, 228; see Sixteenth 

Amendment 
Indians, 88; bureau of, 321 
Indictment, 83, 136 
Indirect taxes, 228 -23] 
Industrial commission, state, no 
Inferior courts, New York Citv, 71 ; 

federal, 335-337 
Inheritance, or transfer, tax, 171 
Initiative, referendum, and recall, 

57, 399 
Insane, hospitals for the, 153 



Inspection of elections, 25 
Institutions, city, 55 ; state. 151 
Insurance, state superintendent 

124 
Interior, Department of the, 319- 

Internal revenue, 230 

International arbitration. 402 

International law defined and terms 
used, 402 

Interstate commer< 

Interstate Commerce Commissi) 
237, 

Interstate freight tariffs, 

Invasion, protection against, guar- 
anteed, 3 \ \ 

Iroquois Indiai, 

Judj 71 ; county, 

So. 

stab 

\ii 

Judgment defined, 

Judicial (\( city, 

county, i 50; federal, 31 7 
139 

14 ial dist rii !>. State, n ap of, 

105. [6a 
Judic iary. federal, d< 

: need ol 

Jurisdiction, of federal con; 

02 
Justice, courts, 22, 128-1^0; I e- 
partment ^\. 317 

Justice of tin- petM e. j:. 

Labor, Department of. 324 

Land, bounties, 320; ,u r rant- to 

education, 3 jo; grants to in- 
dividuals, 320; rights in, 98 
Land survey, system of, 320 

Law. city, 4S; federal. 268-281 ; fun- 
damental, 1, 93; military, 244; 
state. 104-112; town, 17; village, 

3? 
Legislation, methods of, 268 
Legislative commissions, 1 1 2 

gislature, New York State, or- 
ganization of, 104; }>owers of, 
in; procedure in, 100 
of, 10S; in the state- 



INDEX 



Ixxxi 



Letters of marque and reprisal, 244 
Lieutenant governor, 1 1 7 
Limitations, on Congress, 155 ; on 

the state-. 348 
Limited monarchy, 421 
Literature fund for schools, 150 

Uing, j 74 
Lotteries illegal, 98 

Lunacy, state commission in, 122- 
123 

Madison, James. 182, 190 
Magistrates 1 courts, in New York 

City, 6g 
Maine. Sir Henry, quoted, [93 
Majority and minority leaders, in 

mbly, 107 ; in Coi 
Marriage, 

Marshals, federal. 337 
Mayor, 40. 65 

Members Congress 

Messages, o\ governor, 115; of 

mayors, 49, 65; of president, 

300 
Military duty, 100 
Military law and courts, 244 
Military property, 245 
Military training, 147 
Militia, the, 100, 243, Appendix, 

xlv 
Minority leaders, in assembly, 107; 

in Congress, 281 
Mohawk Indians. 88 
M : - . . b» lute, 42OJ limited. 

421 

Money, its history, 232; limitations 

upon sta 

Mother-' pei te provision 

for. 1 1 1 
Muni' uership, 35-37, 53 

National expansion, 107- 376, and 

map. 251 

vernments compared, 

423 

:ard, 100 

mty, doctrine of. 

j. 245 ; denied to 

Chivi rning, 

246; necessar 



Naval militia, state, iot 

Navies, o\ the United State-. 243; 

oi the world. 243 

Navigation laws. 

Navy department, 31S-319 

New York, charter o\ liberties, 01 ; 
constitutions. 92 : a I hitch colony, 
So; an English colony. 00; popu- 
lation, SS ; present constitution, 
See Appendix 

New York City, 02-74 

Ninth Amendment, 359 

Nominations. [63 [65 

Normal college, state, 149 

Normal school. 

Northwest Territory, 319 

Oath o\ office, federal. 1 ; i)\ state 
officers, 114 

Officers, city, 48, 50; count}', 76- 
82; federal, 204, 312, 330, 337; 
New York City, 65-71; school 
district, 7; state, 104, 114-125, 
175; town, 18-25; village, 7,3^ 

38 

Officials, compensation of: cabinet 
officials. 312; city officials. 65-71 ; 
county officials, 76-82 ; foreign ex- 
ecutives, 291; members of Con- 
gress, 220; president, 201 ; state 
officials, 108, 1 15-125; town 
officials, 18-25; vice president, 
307; village officials, 33-34 

( )neida Indians, 88 

( taondaga Indian-. 

( herseer of the poor, town. 2 1 ; 

village, ss 

Panel of jurors, 138 

Pan el post . 

Pardon, by the governor, 1 10 ; by 

the president . 
Parliament, English, 404, [96 
Part>-. origin of, in the United States, 
. rc< ognition of, 

■ j < ommit I 

l' •• invention, 1 
Party government, 373 

!m1. 1 [4 
t bureau, 

d 1 opyrights, 248 



lxxxii 



INDEX 



Patriotism, national, 2 ; state, 86 
Pay roll, of New York City, 125 ; of 

• the state, 125 
Pensions, bureau of, federal, 321; 

for teachers, 145 ; for widowed 

mothers, n 1 
Perjury, 138 

Personal liberty, 96, 347, 356 
Personal property, 97, 359 
Personal security, 97, 357 
Persons, classes of, excluded from 

the United States, 230 
Petit jury, 83, 137 
Petition, the right of, 07, 355i 357 
Physical training compulsory in the 

schools, 146 
Piracy, 239 
Plaintiff defined, 134 

Plurality, 1 70, ,v s .s 
Police, city, 54; town, 20; village, 34 
Police commissioner, New York 
City, 67 

Political parties, origin of, in United 

States, 161, 100 
Poll books, 167 
Poll clerks, 25, 166 
Poor, overseers of, 21 
Poor master, 84 
Posse comiUUuSf 78 
Post-office department, 247, 318 
Post roads defined, 24S 
Postal savings banks, 318 

Postal service, 247, 318 

Power to borrow money, 231 

Powers, of the legislature, in; of 
Congress, 226-261 

Preliminary steps, 4 

Presentment, 358 

Presidency, election methods pro- 
posed, 291; method chosen, 
292 ; defects of method, 293- 
297; great statesmen and the, 
305 ; qualifications for, 289 ; 
views of the convention con- 
cerning, 286-289 

President of the United States, 
cabinet, 304 ; eligibility of, 289 ; 
executive power, 303-304, 306 ; 
judicial powers, 299 ; legislative 
powers, 300-303 ; life of the, 
304; powers enumerated, 299; 



reeligibility of, 290; removal 
power, 370; salary, 290; term, 
treaty making, 302 ; veto, 300 

Presidential election by the House 
of Representatives, 255 

Presidential electors only party 
agents, 255, 3 6S ~37o 

Presidential primaries, 207-298 

Presidential succession, 298 

Press, freedom of, 96, 3- 

Primary elections, 164; importance 
Of, 1 05 

Prisons, commission of, 123; state, 

155 ; superintendent of. 

Private property, 97; federal guar- 
antee of. 

Privateering, 244 

Procedure, in courts, 134, 135-138; 

in impeaehment trials, 257; in 

Legislature N York 

State Legislature, 100 
Property, military, 245; the right of 

private. 07. 359 
Protection, policy of, taritT, 230 
Protection from invasion, 10c 
Provisional limitations upon the 

states, 348 

Public debt, the, 

Public record-. 

Public-service commissions, 

«$ 

Public utilities, city, 53 ; villa 
Public-welfare laws, 1 10 

Public works, city, 53 ; state super- 
intendent of, 1 2. 1 ; village, 37 
Punishments, 07 ; must not 1 

Pure democracy. 421 

Qualifications, of assemblymen. Ap- 
pendix, xi ; for the presidency, 
289; for representatives. 207 ; for 
state senators, 108; for teachers, 
14S; for United States senators, 

215 • ■ 

Quarantine. 30 ; commissioner of 

health. 122 

Quorum, Congress. 222 

Railroads, control of, federal, 
state, 95 



INDEX 



lxxxiii 



ication of the Constitution, 

Real estate, 19 

gnition by the speaker, in the 

mbly, 107; in 
•rd. courts 

the president . 

Referendum, 57, 93, 99, 106, 
Reformatoi .154 

I of, 141-142. Ap 
pendiz, xliii 

rjstrar o! d 

• ration. 1 i 

Reichstag, the, 407 
Religious freedom, 

val, the president's p<> 
. school district, 12 
mentation of the stati 
House of RepresentatJ 
in United 

tative democracy, 421 
sentatives, election of, 210: 
Dses of, 212; 
. 211; qualif '. 207 : 

ry of, 220; term of, 20S 
Reprieve, by governor, 116 ; by pres- 
ident, 299 
Republican form of government 

Retirement fund for teachers. 145 
Revenue, internal, defined. 230 
Revenue bills, in the II 

Representatives, 255 
Reveni . 55 ; count-. 

federal, 228-231; school 

. 10; state, 171 ; town. [6 ; 
vii 
Right of private pr 
Right to vote, in cities, 48 
and state 1 
at school mc< 
meet 

women vol 
Robbery, defined, 135 

c 
:8o 
Rural free delivery. 



Salaries of public officials: city, 71. 

OOUnty, 77 Si; federal. 220. 20 1 . 

307. ite, 100. 10S. 

I ; town, i fl 
Sanitation, state regulations 

ceraing, 1 1 1 
Scholarships, state, 140 
School din 

School districts, 7- 1 l, 150: 1 
of, 7 13; political independence 
of, 1 1 ; removals in, 1 2 ; vacancies 
in, how filled. 
School meeting, annual, 10; busi- 
10; who may vote at, 
10 
School neighborhood, 12 
School trust funds, 150 
School yeai 

Schools, agricultural, 151; blind, 
deaf, and dumb. 153 ; distri 
bution oi state aid for, 149; 
normal. 152 ; pub':' ■ 4. 52. 

141-150, J99J stal 

to, 148; superintendent of , 24, 55, 
. 80 
Search, the right of, 357 
-ion. the right of, 100 
ary of state, federal, 313-314; 
New York, 1 
Senate. New Yorl 107; 

officers, 10S; qualilu 
members of, 10S, Appendix, \i ; 
salary, ro8 ; term, 10S 
Senate. United State-, adjournment, 
character of it s n 1 1 

utive powei ; ju- 

dicial i»" 

origin and char;i< l« ; and 

the president's appoint 1 
Senate chamber, federal, 205, 

Senafc the Unite 

qualifica 

tion 

I 

re. 108 
■ 

Sheriff. 7 
Sherman Ant i I 238 



lxxxiv 



INDEX 



Slave trade, 188 

Sovereignty, doctrine of national, 

349 
Spanish- American War, 251 
Speaker, of assembly, 106; election 

of, 106 ; powers of, 107 
Speaker, of House of Representa- 
tives, how chosen, 212 ; powers of, 
278-280 
Special courts, 132 
Special sessions, court of, 69 
Speech, freedom of, 96, 357 

State, the divisions of: assembly 
districts, 104-105, 102; cities, 
47; congressional districts, [62; 
counties, 75 ; election districts, 
101 ; judicial dist ricts, 131, t6a ; 
seh k>1 districts, 7 ; senatorial dis- 

t ricts, 104- 105 ; towns, 1 \ 

Mate activities, 95 ; federal, defined, 
419 ; unitary, denned, 

State colleges, 140 

State constitutions, amendments 
to, 379 ; contents, 380 i » risting 
constitutions, 381 ; historic al 
changes in, 380; method- of 
making, 378; present pn 
of making, 37« s ; origin of, 377 

State control of banks, ioi 

State engineer and surveyor, 

Siate governments, 376 401 

State regulation, of cii ; 
95; of counties, 75, 95 ; of educa- 
tion, 7, 95 ; oi elections, 1 59 ; of 
health, in; <A hours of labor, 
in ; i^i personal rights, 9 
of property, 95-97; of towns, 
14, 95; of villages, 27, 95 

State scholarship, 149 

States, admission of new. 341; at- 
titude oi. toward the Constitution, 
176 ; courtsof, 392-393 ; diversities 
and uniformities among the, 370 ; 
education in, 396; elections in, 
385; executive officers of, 389; 
feeling between the, 17S; finances 
of, 394; governments described, 
381 ; guarantees to, 344-346 ; im- 
portance of governments, 399; in- 
itiative and referendum, 399-400 ; 
judges, 394; legislatures of, 386; 



limitations upon , 346-349 ; obli- 
gations of, towards each other, 
345; relation to federal govern- 
ment, 19S; suffrage in. 3 
, Of, 3 ( >4 

Street railways, 37 

Streets, center of city life. 42; 
cleaning, 43. 45i 531 com- 
missioner, 33, 50; how laid out, 
42-44; lighting, 37; permi 
to use, how obtained, 45 

Succession to offi< 1 \ ernor, 

[15; of president, 

Suffrage, in the nation, 200; ja 
Y<>ik. ivj 100; a privi- 
lege, 159; in th( 
woman. 

Summons defined, 
Superintendent, of banks, [34; 

of hi 

of insurj of pa ■ 

of public 

worl '. 14.4 

Supervis >rs, board oi 
Supervisory disl ri< t. [44 
Supreme court, of New York City, 

70; ; in tin- states 

304 
Supreme Court oi the United St 

334; judges, how appointed, 

junsdicti named in the 

Constitution, 330, Article III. 
>ns, 335 
Surrogate's court, So. 

\cw York City, 70 
Survey, geological, 322; of public 

land-, 320 
Syracuse University, State (" 

of Fore-try located at, 140 

Tariff , defined, 174, 228-229; inter- 
state, i 

Tax, defined, 228; income, in the 

states, 394-306 
Tax commissioner, State, 123 

Taxes, apportionment of. 17:: in 

cities, 50; collection oi. 

federal. 3. 228-229; indirect. 

228 ; in school district- 
Taxing power oi Congr 

restrictions upon, 228, 229 



INDEX 






us and training 

Term of the president. 

1 in court : arrest. [35 ; 

. 135 : bill of 

indictment, 136; burglary, 

charg jnr\-. 138; crime, 

ndant, i v ;4 ; grand jury, 

. guilty, 138 ; indictment 

S ; panel of juror-. 

perjury, etit jury, 

.in tiff. 134 ; procedure. 

robber summons, 

trial, 137; verdict, 

warrant. 

Territi vernment of. 250; 

new classification ; or- 

and unorgani 
the north 
Territory, acquisition of, by United 

j ; Northwest, jig 
Thirteenth Amendment . 
Titles 

- for discussion, 73. 74, 

Town, government of, 14-16; his- 

".'•' of, 14 
1 auditors. 24 
Town board, 24 

Town meeting, powers of. 1 

who may vote at. if>; time of 

hold 

ns, number of, i + 
Training, physical and military, 

14 

te t 1 » 
feder $$3 

Treason, 334 

' ' . 

ol distri 

tit jury, 



Trusts, defined, 138; regulation 
Twelfth Amendment, : 

Union, relation to states, 198 
Union free school district . 1 1 
Unitary state, the, 
United States deposit fund 
United States hind grant furn 
University oi the State of v 

York, 14 i 
Unwritten constitution, the cabinet 
and the. 37a ; commit;, 
and the, 373 ; development of, 
doctrine n\ original and inherent 
power- in, 368 ; party government 
and the, : president and 

his power of removal, 370 

minations and the 
72 ; presidential eh 
368-370; reeligibility ^i the presi- 
dent, 

Vacancies, appointive offi< 

eities by mil. r; in 

. 1 1 7. 2 1 1 . u r Seventeenth 
Amendment; in school district, 
12; in some state offices, 121 
in town offices 
Verdict defined 

Verra 

Veterinary, state college of, 1 .; 
ernor of 
• 
may 

dent, 30c 
president, 

■ 
term, 
Villagi 

latun 

dent 

rd of trust 
ViD 
Villagi 



lxxxvi INDEX 

384; in Congress, 275 ; illegal, 385 ; ention, [82; inauguration 

methods of, 167-168 ; New Zealand < >f . 191 

ballot, 57 Water supply, 36, 45 

Weights and measures. 240 

War, declaration of, 241 Women, as voters at school n, 

War department. 316; powers of ing, ib ; as voters in several states, 

Congress, 240 160, $82 

Warrant, 81; denned, 13s. 357 Workmen's Compensation Act, 

Washington, George, in constitutional appendix, v 



